Senecio thomsonii C. B. Clarke, Compos. Ind. 205. 1876; Ligularia bungei (Franchet) M. Popov; L. thyrsoidea (Ledebour) Candolle var. alpina Bunge; S. bungei Franchet.

Stem erect, 25-200 cm tall, white floccose-lanate, 5-10 mm in diam. at base, with a circle of dense reddish brown lanate hairs. Basal leaves petiolate; petiole 8-30 cm, white lanate or glabrous, base narrowly sheathed; leaf blade triangular- or ovate-cordate, 4-26 × 4-22 cm, abaxially sparsely white lanate, adaxially glabrous, veins palmate-pinnate, base cordate or hastate, margin minutely denticulate, apex obtuse; basal lobes suborbicular, slightly divergent. Middle to distal stem leaves shortly petiolate; petiole to 4 cm, base slightly enlarged; leaf blade smaller than basal leaves, ovate-cordate to narrowly ovate. Distal stem leaves narrowly lanceolate, 2-5 cm × 3-10 mm. Corymbs paniculate; branches to 7 cm, each branch with 2-4 capitula; leaflike and supplementary bracts subulate, 4-10 mm; peduncles 5-20 mm. Capitula numerous. Involucre narrowly cylindric or campanulate, 7-13 × 3-6 mm, outside glabrous; phyllaries 5-7, in 2 rows, dark brown, narrowly oblong or lanceolate, 2-4 mm wide, margin membranous, apex acute. Ray florets 1-3(or 4), yellow; lamina narrowly oblong, to 1.8 cm × 3-4 mm, apex subentire; tube ca. 5 mm. Tubular florets 7-11, ca. 9 mm, extending from involucre; tube ca. 3 mm. Achenes yellowish. Pappus white, as long as tubular corolla. Fl. and fr. Jul-Aug.

Grasslands, forest margins; 1500-3800 m. Xinjiang (Tian Shan) [Afghanistan, Kashmir, E Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan].