细弱香青 xi ruo xiang qing

Rhizome woody. Stems erect or ascending, ca. 14 cm tall, ca. 1 mm in diam., white arachnoid tomentose, upper parts brownish pilose, unbranched, slender; internodes 7-11 mm. Leaves oblanceolate or narrowly spatulate, abaxially arachnoid tomentose, adaxially green, glabrous, almost lustrous, 1-veined, base long cuneate, decurrent along stems and becoming a narrow wing, apex obtuse to truncate; lower leaves usually caducous and lost by anthesis, 4-13 × 2-2.5 mm, base slightly larger, erect to expanding; uppermost leaves linear, apex usually brownish scarious piliform. Capitula 4-6, terminal, corymbiform, dense, ca. 2 cm in diam.; peduncle absent or to 3 mm, white arachnoid tomentose. Involucre narrowly campanulate, 7.5-8 mm; phyllaries 4-seriate, all erect, apex obtuse; outer phyllaries reddish brown, oblanceolate, 4-5 mm; middle ones ca. 7 mm, base brown and red, apex white; innermost ones linear, 5.5-7 mm. Florets in center of capitulum sterile, ca. 3; corolla ca. 4 mm; pappus ca. 3 mm, incrassate at tip of apex. Outer florets ca. 8; corolla ca. 3.5 mm; pappus white, ca. 3.5 mm. Achene oblong, ca. 0.6 mm, glabrous.

● W Sichuan.

No specimens of this species were seen by the present authors. The description is based on the protologue, as well as work by Handel-Mazzetti (Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 13: 631. 1937).