高山耐旱蒲公英 gao shan nai han pu gong ying

Herbs to 10 cm tall; plant base with remnants of old petioles. Petiole ± glabrous, unwinged; leaf blade ± light green, ± linear, 3-8 × 0.1-0.3(-0.5) cm, glabrous, not divided, margin entire or rarely minutely remotely dentate, apex subacute. Scapes greenish, ± equaling leaves, arachnoid and densely so below capitulum. Capitulum to 2 cm wide. Involucre 8-9 mm wide, base ± subobconic. Outer phyllaries 8-10(-12), light green often suffused pinkish in upper part, subimbricate, ± lanceolate to narrowly triangular, outermost ones 5-7(-8) × 2-3 mm and ca. 1/2 as long as inner ones, appressed, abaxial surface slightly arachnoid, with a narrow whitish membranous border, margin densely arachnoid, near apex pale to blackish corniculate; inner phyllaries (8-)10-12 × 1.1-1.5 mm, apex corniculate. Ligules pale yellow (becoming pinkish); outer ligules flat, outside striped faintly grayish. Achene gray straw-colored brown, ca. 6 × 1 mm; body apically totally smooth, with cone not discernible; beak 1-2 mm, very thick. Pappus brownish white, 5-6 mm. Fl. summer.

High alpine and subsaline slopes; ca. 4000 m. W Xinjiang (Wuqia) [Kyrgyzstan].