普洱毛鳞菊 pu er mao lin ju

Basionym: Lactuca henryi Dunn, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 35: 512. 1903.

Herbs to 1 m tall, perennial. Stem solitary, erect, apically branched, glabrous, leafy. Lower stem leaves not seen. Middle stem leaves spatulate, to 12 × 3 cm, pinnatifid to pinnatipartite, somewhat setose, base attenuate, margin sinuate-dentate, apex obtuse to acute; lateral lobes 1 or 2 pairs, semiorbicular to broadly ovate; terminal lobe ovate to lanceolate, as wide as lateral lobes. Upper stem leaves similar to middle stem leaves but smaller and less divided, apex acute to acuminate; uppermost stem leaves narrowly elliptic, undivided. Synflorescence paniculiform with some to many capitula. Capitula with 4 or 5? florets; peduncle wiry, sparsely setose. Involucre narrowly cylindric, 1.3-1.6 × ca. 0.3 cm. Phyllaries glabrous, apex obtuse; outer phyllaries lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, longest ca. 1/2 as long as inner ones; inner phyllaries 4. Florets ?purplish. Achene 0.9-1.1 cm; body reddish, narrowly ellipsoid, compressed, apex tapering into a paler 3-4 mm beak. Pappus ca. ?7 mm.

● About 1500 m. Yunnan (Pu’er).

Lactuca henryi, based on the collection A. Henry 13494, was omitted from FRPS and by X. Zhuang (Fl. Yunnan. 13. 2004), but, as confirmed by the electronic image of an isotype at NY, it represents a species well characterized by its slender involucres and long-beaked achene. It can fairly safely be assigned to Melanoseris.