西藏风毛菊 xi zang feng mao ju

Herbs 8-25 cm tall, perennial. Caudex simple or few branched. Stem solitary, erect, simple. Rosette and basal leaves petiolate; leaf blade linear, 3-12 × 0.1-0.7(-1) cm, abaxially grayish green and white tomentose, adaxially green or purplish, glabrous, base attenuate, margin revolute and entire or very shallowly crenate, apex acute or obtuse. Stem leaves few, similar to basal leaves, but sessile, base amplexicaul. Uppermost stem leaves usually dark purple. Capitula solitary or 2, terminal on stem. Involucre obconic, 1.5-2 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 3 or 4 rows, dark purple, densely to sparsely villous, apex acuminate; outer phyllaries narrowly triangular-ovate, 8-10 × 3-5 mm; middle phyllaries narrowly ovate-elliptic, 10-12 × 2-3 mm; inner phyllaries linear, 12-14 × 1-2 mm. Corolla purple, 0.9-1.2 cm, glabrous, tube 5-7 mm, limb 4-6 mm, lobes 2.5-4 mm. Achene narrowly obconic, 3.5-4 mm, glabrous, 5-angled, apex with a short crown. Pappus dirty white to pale yellowish brown; outer bristles 1-4 mm; inner bristles 7-11 mm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Aug. 2n = 36*.

● Alpine pastures and meadows; 3400-4700 m. Qinghai, NW Sichuan (Sêrxü), N Xizang.