光猫儿菊 guang mao er ju

Herbs 10-30 cm tall, annual, rosulate. Stems 1 or few, ascending to erect, simple or apically sparsely branched, glabrous, leafless or with few triangular-ovate bracts. Rosette leaves obovate to oblanceolate, 3-5 × 0.5-1.5 cm, subglabrous to hispidulous, base narrowed, margin sinuate-dentate, apex rounded to subacute. Synflorescence single-headed or weakly corymbiform with few to several capitula. Capitulum with usually 20-40 florets; peduncle long. Involucre cylindric to narrowly campanulate, 7-10 × 3-4 mm at anthesis, 1.3-1.5 mm in fruit. Phyllaries ± glabrous; outer phyllaries lanceolate; inner phyllaries linear-lanceolate. Florets yellow, slightly longer than involucre. Achene brown, dimorphic; outer achenes cylindric, 3-4 mm, ribbed, muricate, truncate; inner achenes with fusiform body, 3-4 mm, ribbed, muricate, beak capillaceous and as long as or longer than body. Pappus 7-8 mm, inner bristles plumose, outer bristles scabrid and shorter. Fl and fr. Mar-Apr. 2n = 10.

Roadsides, waste places; near sea level to 100 m. Naturalized in W Taiwan [native to N Africa and Europe].

Hypochaeris glabra has also been introduced to E and S Africa, S and SW Asia, Australia, Japan, North and South America, and Pacific islands (New Zealand).

The species was first collected in Taiwan in 2007 (M. J. Jung et al., Taiwania 53: 230. 2008). No material has been seen from Taiwan by the present authors. The description is based on the publication by the above authors and material from outside the area.