密花合耳菊 mi hua he er ju

Senecio cappa Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 179. 1825; S. densiflorus Wallich ex Candolle; S. densiflorus var. lobbii J. D. Hooker; S. nagensium C. B. Clarke var. lobbii (J. D. Hooker) Craib; S. tsoongianus Y. Ling.

Subshrubs or shrubby herbs, rhizomatous. Stems erect, to 150 cm tall, often flexuous, densely lanate or arachnoid-tomentose, ± glabrescent when old, simple or usually branching above in synflorescences, leafless in lower part at anthesis. Leaves petiolate or sometimes subsessile; petiole to 10 mm, stout, densely tomentose, base often auriculate; blade broadly to narrowly obovate-oblanceolate or oblong-elliptic, 10-28 × 4-8 cm, papery, abaxially densely to sparsely fulvous pubescent on veins and densely to sparsely whitish tomentose, sometimes ± glabrescent, adaxially shortly densely to sparsely pubescent and sometimes thinly white arachnoid to subglabrous, pinnately veined, lateral veins 12-28, arcuate-ascending, base attenuate, margin finely to coarsely mucronulate-serrate, apically acuminate. Upper leaves and leaves of branches lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, gradually smaller. Capitula radiate, usually numerous, arranged in terminal and axillary usually 10-20-headed dense compound corymbs or thyrses; peduncles 5-10 mm, densely tomentose, with a few linear or linear-subulate bracts. Involucres narrowly campanulate, 5-7 × 2-4 mm, calyculate; bracts of calyculus ca. 8, linear-lanceolate, 3-5 mm, apically acuminate; phyllaries 8-13, linear-lanceolate, ca. 1 mm wide, herbaceous, densely tomentose, margin narrowly scarious, apically obtuse to acute and puberulent. Ray florets ca. 8; corolla tube ca. 2.5 mm; lamina yellow, ca. 3.5 × 1 mm, 4-veined, 3-denticulate. Disk florets 11-17; corolla yellow, ca. 5 mm, with ca. 1.5 mm tube and funnelform limb; lobes ovate-oblong, ca. 1.5 mm, apically acute. Anthers ca. 2.5 mm; anther tails slightly exceeding antheropodia; appendages ovate-oblong; antheropodia rather slender, basally slightly dilated. Style branches ca. 1 mm, fringed with short papillae, terminal tuft not evident. Achenes ca. 2 mm, glabrous. Pappus white, ca. 5 mm. Fl. Oct-Jan.

Forest margins, thickets, streamsides, meadows; 1500-2300 m. Guangxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, NE India, Myanmar, Nepal, N Thailand].