Lagenophora stipitata

Detailed description

Perennial rhizomatous herb; roots and rhizomes fibrous, wiry, not bunched, 0.1–1 mm diameter; stem very short (leaves in basal rosette) or often elongated (leaves alternate along stem); leaves and scapes firmly attached to stem and/or rootstock. Leaves 5–20, narrowly obovate to spathulate, 1.5–7.7 cm long, 0.4–1.8 cm wide (3.8–4.3× longer than wide), sessile or with a winged petiolelike base to 2 cm long; leaf apex obtuse; leaf margins usually obtusely serrate with 5–15 serrations, each serration 1–3 mm long; upper leaf surface green, lower leaf surface pale green; both surfaces with eglandular hairs 0.2–0.35 mm long, 7–9 per mm2 ; leaf margins with 10–15 eglandular hairs per mm2 , each 0.2–0.3 mm long; leaf veins obscure on dried material on both surfaces. Scapes channelled, 1–5 per tuft, each 4–15 cm long at anthesis, 5–19 cm long at fruiting stage, 0.5–1.2 mm diameter; indumentum 0.2–0.4 mm long, spreading or retrorse to patent, 2–10 hairs per mm at midpoint of scape, equally dense throughout or denser towards apex; bracts 1–3 (–5) up to c. 8 mm long and 1 mm wide. Capitula c. 6 mm long, 8–12 mm diameter; involucral bracts 50–60 in 5–6 rows, linear to narrow lanceolate, entire, apex acute to occasionally acuminate, with fringed margins on distal half; outer bracts c. 2.1 × 0.3 mm, inner bracts c. 3.5 × 0.4 mm, all with hairs along the midrib. Receptacle convex, 2–3.2 mm diameter, 1.2–1.5 mm high. Ray florets 40–70, in 2–4 rows; tube 0.7–0.9 mm long, c. 0.3 mm diameter, minute hairy; style branches c. 0.5 mm long; ligules 2.3–3.3 mm long, 0.3–0.5(–0.8) mm wide with 3 longitudinal veins, blue, purple or light yellow, apex acute to acuminate. Disc florets c. 15, corolla, tubular, 2–2.5 mm long, yellow-green, outer surface glandular hairy on bottom part and short hairy on top part; lobes 5, deltate, 0.2– 0.3 mm long, purplish brown, minute hairy. Achenes obliquely oblanceolate, 2.2–3 × 0.7–0.9 mm excluding beak, light dark brown to purplish brown at maturity; edges slightly thickened and light-coloured in contrast with the faces; glands extending from distal end to base, especially along dorsal edge, but mainly basal and near apex, otherwise glabrous; beak 0.6–1 mm long, 0.15–0.25 mm wide, densely glandular throughout, with a thickened white annular collar at its apex, 0.25–0.3 mm diameter.