Conyza rhizocephala (Schrenk ex Fischer & C. A. Meyer) Ruprecht; Inula rhizocephala var. intermedia Kitamura; I. rhizocephala var. rhizocephaloides (C. B. Clarke) Kitamura; I. rhizocephaloides C. B. Clarke.

Perennials or biennials. Plants acaulescent. Leaves numerous, all radical, arranged in rosette, (5-)8-25(-35) cm in diam.; blade oblong or oblong-ovate, (2.5-)4-16 cm (together with petiole), (2-)2.5-3.5 cm wide, longer than synflorescence, both surfaces sparsely covered, but densely along prominent midvein abaxially, with long white multicellular appressed and sparse fine glandular hairs, base narrowed into winged petiole 2-3.5 cm, margin indistinctly and widely sinuate-dentate and densely ciliate, apex obtuse. Capitula numerous (8-20), 1.5-3 cm in diam., sessile or on densely pubescent peduncles 2-3 cm, arranged in dense semispherical sessile subcapitate synflorescences. Involucre 1.2-2 cm in diam., polyphyllous, multiseriate; phyllaries acute, violet and shortly ciliate distally, outer ones lanceolate-linear, 7-9 × 1-1.1 mm, unbent above, covered with hairs, inner ones linear or narrowly linear, ca. 1.2 cm × 0.8-1 mm, membranous, straight, finely glandular-pubescent. Ray florets yellow, ca. 1.5 cm, slightly longer than phyllaries, smooth; tube small, ca. 7 mm, almost 1/2 as long as pappus; lamina linear, as long as small tube, shortly tridentate. Disk florets yellow, ca. 9 mm, slightly shorter than pappus, with 5 smooth teeth. Achenes brown, terete, 1.5-2 × ca. 0.3 mm, longitudinally finely ribbed, covered with appressed short fox-red hairs or glabrous. Pappus 6-7 × as long as achene, with numerous bristles. Fl. Jun-Aug. 2n = 16.

Conifer forests, meadows, thickets; 1700-3800 m. Xinjiang, Xizang [Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; SW Asia (Iran)].