Senecio franchetianus H. Léveillé, Bull. Géogr. Bot. 25: 16. 1915; Ligularia aphanoglossa Handel-Mazzetti; Senecillis franchetiana (H. Léveillé) Kitamura.

Stem erect, 70-150 cm tall, 7-21 mm in diam. at base, proximally glabrous, distally shortly purplish red pilose. Basal leaves petiolate; petiole 9-32 cm, glabrous or shortly brown pilose, base sheathed; leaf blade reniform, 4-30 × 6-42 cm, glabrous or abaxially pale green and initially shortly brown pilose, adaxially green, palmately veined, with 5 principal veins and prominent reticulate veins, margin regularly dentate, between teeth brown ciliate, apex rounded; sinus ca. 1/3 as long as leaf blade, broad. Middle and distal stem leaves shortly petiolate, base broadly sheathed; leaf blade reniform. Distalmost stem leaves smaller, sessile, base broadly sheathed. Corymbs compound, spreading, to 17 cm; branches and peduncles to 12 cm, densely shortly brown pilose. Capitula numerous; leaflike and supplementary bracts smaller, subulate. Involucre cylindric, 5-11 × 2-3 mm, outside glabrous; phyllaries (2 or)3-5, oblong, 1-2 mm wide, brown ciliate, margin membranous, apex triangular-acute. Florets (2 or)3-5, yellow; ray floret solitary or absent, tubular, split on one side, as long as tubular florets. Tubular florets 9-10 mm; tube 3-4 mm. Achenes brown, cylindric, to 8 mm. Pappus white, slightly shorter than tubular corolla. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

● Stream banks, forest understories, grassland slopes; 2400-3900 m. SW Sichuan, NE and NW Yunnan.