蕨叶假福王草 jue ye jia fu wang cao

Lactuca polypodiifolia Franchet, J. Bot. (Morot) 9: 265. 1895; Mulgedium meridionale C. Shih; M. polypodiifolium (Franchet) C. Shih; Paraprenanthes meridionalis (C. Shih) Sennikov.

Herbs 50-110 cm tall, perennial. Stem apically densely glandular hairy. Leaves glaucous, glabrous, all with unwinged or weakly winged petiole, margin of leaf blade shallowly and distantly mucronulately dentate. Basal leaves, lower stem leaves, and middle stem leaves with petiole 9-12 cm; leaf blade lyrately pinnatifid to pinnatisect, margin sinuate; lateral lobes 1 or 2(-4) pairs, elliptic-rhombic, ovate, or triangular-ovate, much smaller than terminal lobe, apex obtuse to acute; terminal lobe triangular-ovate to lanceolate, 5-8 × 3.5-6 cm, base cordate, truncate, or cuneate, apex acute to shortly acuminate. Upper stem leaves smaller, with a shorter petiole; leaf blade similar to middle stem leaves or undivided and ovate to broadly lanceolate. Synflorescence corymbiform, with some to many capitula on somewhat divaricating branchlets. Capitula with usually 10-15 florets. Involucre 9-11 × ca. 3 mm. Outer phyllaries triangular-ovate to linear-lanceolate, longest ca. 3 × 1 mm, apex acute; inner phyllaries 8, apex ± obtuse. Florets purplish red or rarely white. Achene ca. 5 mm, apically attenuate into a stout ca. 1 mm beak. Pappus ca. 6 mm. Fl. and fr. May-Jun.

● Trailsides on mountain slopes, forests in mountain valleys; 800-2000 m. Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan.