黄山蟹甲草 huang shan xie jia cao

Cacalia hwangshanica Y. Ling, Contr. Inst. Bot. Natl. Acad. Peiping 5: 11. 1937; C. bulbifera (Maximowicz) Matsumura var. piligera Y. Ling; Koyamacalia hwangshanica (Y. Ling) H. Robinson & Brettell.

Plants erect, 25-50 cm tall. Rhizomes robust, ca. 2.5 cm in diam., with many fascicled tomentose fibrous roots. Stem solitary, simple, striate or sulcate, sparsely arachnoid, gradually glabrescent, naked in lower part, with 2 withered ovate scales. Leaves usually 3 or 4, crowded at middle part; petiole often shorter than leaf blade, petioles in lower part to 9 cm, obscurely narrowly winged, sparsely arachnoid or subglabrous, base expanded and subamplexicaul; leaf blade adaxially dark green, broadly reniform or ovate-orbicular, 6-12(-15) × 8-15 cm, membranous when dry, abaxially thinly white arachnoid, adaxially sparsely or on veins more densely brown strigillose, basally 3-veined, lateral veins furcate in 3-5 pairs, veins prominent on both surfaces, base cordate, shortly cuneate, decurrent into petiole, margin deeply undulate or equally finely toothed, teeth mucronulate, apex acute or rounded-obtuse. Upper leaves shortly petiolate, ovate-cordate, smaller, apex acute or slightly acute. Uppermost leaves bractlike, ovate or ovate-lanceolate. Capitula many, arranged in 8-18 cm lax panicles; rachis slender, arachnoid and brown shortly pubescent; peduncles 3-5 mm or subsessile, with 1 or 2 subulate bractlets. Involucres narrowly campanulate-cylindric, ca. 10 × 1.5-2 mm, margin broadly scarious, apically obtuse, puberulent. Florets 7 or 8; corolla yellow, ca. 8 mm; tube slender, ca. 3 mm; limb narrowly campanulate, 4-5 mm; lobes ovate-lanceolate, apex puberulent. Anthers exserted from corolla, basally shortly caudate. Style branches excurved, apically truncate, penicillate, papillose. Achenes brown, cylindric, 4-5 mm, glabrous, ribbed. Pappus white, ca. 7 mm. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Sep.

● Grasslands at mountain summits, shaded wet places on slopes; 1500-1800 m. Anhui, Jiangxi, Taiwan, Zhejiang.

Parasenecio hwangshanicus is quite similar to P. rufipilis in aspect, but the latter differs in having petioles and stems red-brown villous; capitula arranged in dense narrow panicles, rachis densely arachnoid; and florets 5.