Trochocephalus alpestris (Karelin & Kirilov) A. Löve & D. Löve.

Herbs, perennial. Caudexes lignified, 2-5-branched, outside brown-black. Stems 20-50 cm tall, nodes 2-4, usually pubescent, occasionally glabrous. Basal leaves and first pair of lower cauline leaves petiolate; petioles 5-7 cm; leaf blade lanceolate, 5-8 × 0.5-1.1 cm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent, base attenuate into petiole, margin usually entire, ciliate, hairs white, apex acuminate. Cauline leaves in 1-3 pairs, second and third pairs pinnatisect; lateral segments linear-lanceolate; terminal lobe larger, lanceolate, 4-7 × 0.6-0.8 cm; all segments pubescent below, margins ciliate. Peduncles ca. 10 cm; capitula 3-6 cm in diam. at anthesis, globose and ca. 3 cm in diam. in fruit; involucral bracts linear-lanceolate, 1.2-1.5 cm, densely white hirsute; involucels 8-10 mm, rounded and sparsely white pilose below, with 8 pits above, crown membranous, 5-6 mm, 16-18-veined, margin sinuous-dentate. Calyx 5-setose, setae brown, radial, 1-3 mm, longer than crown. Corolla pale purple or purple-red, outside lanate; limb ± lipped, 5-lobed; lobes unequal in size. Anthers yellow. Style purple-red; stigma capitate, exserted. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Aug-Sep.

Alpine meadows; 3000-3200 m. Xinjiang (Huocheng, Wuqia, Zhaosu) [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan].