广西蒲儿根 guang xi pu er gen

Herbs, scapigerous or subscapigerous. Rhizomes 5-10 mm in diam., collar densely fulvous tomentose and clad in persistent petiole bases. Stems solitary, erect, subscapiform, 10-35 cm tall, slender, simple, brown villous in lower part, sparsely so to subglabrous in upper part. Radical leaves few, rosulate, long petiolate; petiole 2-6 cm, rather stout, densely fulvous villous, basally somewhat expanded; blade adaxially green or deep green, suborbicular or reniform, 2-7 × 2.5-9 cm, thickly papery or subleathery, abaxially densely white tomentose or sometimes sparsely villous and glabrescent, and then often deep purplish red, adaxially sparsely to sometimes densely fulvous hispid, palmately 5-7-veined, base cordate, margin coarsely repand or dentate with ovate-deltoid or shallowly ovate-deltoid mucronulate teeth. Stem leaves usually 1-5, similar to radical ones but smaller upward on stem and with shorter petioles slightly expanded but not auriculate at base. Uppermost leaves bractiform, few, linear or linear-lanceolate, 1-1.5 cm, apically acute. Capitula (1 or)2-7 or more arranged in terminal corymbs, 1.5-1.8 cm in diam.; peduncles 1-5.5 cm, slender, sparsely puberulent or subglabrous, usually bracteate at base and 1-3-bracteolate in upper part; bracts and bracteoles linear, 3-6 mm, apically callose-mucronulate. Involucres campanulate, hemispheric when flattened, 5-8 × ca. 7 mm, calyculate; calyculus of 8-10 bracteoles; bracteoles linear, 3-5 mm, apically callose-mucronulate. Phyllaries ca. 13, oblong-lanceolate, 6-7 × 1.5-2.5 mm, herbaceous, glabrous or subglabrous, apically ± acute, reddish purple and ciliate. Ray florets ca. 13, uniseriate; corolla tube ca. 2.5 mm, glabrous; lamina yellow, oblong or broadly oblong, ca. 7 × 2-3 mm, 4-veined, apically 3-denticulate, obtuse. Disk florets: corolla yellow, 3.5-4 mm, with ca. 2 mm tube and campanulate limb; lobes ovate-lanceolate, ca. 1 mm, apically acute. Anthers ca. 1.3 mm, basally obtuse, appendages ovate-oblong. Style branches ca. 0.7 mm. Achenes cylindric, 1.5-2 mm, ribs pubescent, papillate. Pappus white, 3.5-4 mm. Fl. May-Oct, fr. Jun-Nov. 2n = 48*.

● Forests, streamsides, wet rocky places on mountain summits; 800-2300 m. Guangxi, SW Hunan (Chengbu, Dong’an, Jiangyong).

Sinosenecio guangxiensis shows great variation within and between populations with respect to plant size and leaf size, shape, and indumentum. It is similar to S. latouchei and S. jiuhuashanicus in posture, leaf shape, and achene morphology but readily recognizable by the petioles of stem leaves basally expanded but not auriculate and the calyculus of 8-10 bracteoles.