川鄂蟹甲草 chuan e xie jia cao

Senecio vespertilio Franchet, J. Bot. (Morot) 8: 359. 1894; Cacalia vespertilio (Franchet) Handel-Mazzetti.

Plants 90-120 cm tall. Stem erect, robust, distinctly sulcate, simple, glabrous in lower part, sparsely hispidulous and brown glandular hairy. Leaves few, long petiolate; petiole 15-20 cm, stout, not winged, shortly hairy and brown glandular hairy above; blade abaxially pale green, adaxially dark green, pentagonal-reniform, 20-22 × ca. 30 cm, abaxially hispidulous on veins, adaxially sparsely hispidulous, basally 7-9-veined, lateral veins upward furcate and laxly reticulate, base broadly deeply cordate, margin undulate-toothed, teeth mucronulate, apex shortly acute or rounded. Upper leaf petioles short, ca. 10 cm; leaf blades cordate or pentagonal-cordate, smaller, margin undulate-dentate, teeth mucronulate, apex hornlike acuminate. Capitula numerous, terminal, arranged in panicle ca. 50 × 20 cm, spreading at anthesis; peduncles 2.5-3.5 cm, slender, with 2 or 3 linear bractlets, sparsely puberulent and brown glandular hairy. Involucres cylindric or narrowly campanulate, 1.3-1.5 cm × 5-7 mm; phyllaries 8(or 9), olivaceous, oblong-lanceolate, outside sparsely puberulent and glandular hairy, margin narrowly scarious, apically acuminate or acute. Florets 16-19; corolla yellow, 8-10 mm, with 3-3.5 mm tube and broadly tubular limb; lobes ovate-lanceolate, apically puberulent. Anthers exserted from corolla, basally long caudate. Style branches excurved, truncate, penicillate-papillose. Achenes cylindric, 5-6 mm, glabrous, ribbed. Pappus white, ca. 9 mm. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Sep.

● Forest margins, canal sides, shaded places on mountains; 1200-2400 m. Chongqing (Chengkou), W Hubei (Shennongjia).