Neobrachyactis roylei - Shady Bracted-Fleabane

Shady Bracted-Fleabane is an annual herb, 3-35 cm tall. Stems are erect or rising up, sometimes prostrate, green or tinged pinkish, branched from base or upper part, densely leafy, densely stipitate glandular, densely hairy. Leaves are stipitate glandular, hairy; basal withered and fallen at flowerng, long stalked, blade obovate or obovate-oblong, 0.5-4 x 0.3-1.5 cm, base wedge-shaped to narrowed, margin coarsely sawtoothed, tip blunt or arched; stem-leaves shortly stalked, blade obovate, base narrowed to wedge-shaped; upper reduced, margin coarsely sawtoothed or nearly entire. Flower-heads are numerous, in raceme or panicle like clusters, 1-1.2 cm in diameter. Involucre is bell-shaped; phyllaries in 3- or 4-series, membranous, linear-lanceshaped, outer shorter than inner, 5-7 x 0.6-1 mm. Ray florets are numerous, reduced to tube, white, 2.2-2.6 mm, sparsely hairy above, tip oblique, fringed with hairs; disk florets yellow, 3.5-3.6 mm, tube 2.4-2.8 mm, limb shortly funnel-shaped, upper tube and limb hairy, lobes ovate, 0.25-0.4 mm. Seepods are lanceshaped, compressed, 1.8-2.2 mm, bristly. Pappus is yellowish to cinnamon, 2-seriate, 3.6-3.9 mm, inner equaling disk flower. Shady Bracted-Fleabane is is found among rocks and shrubs, at altitudes of 1800-4300 m, SW. Iran, Afghanistan to N. Xinjiang and West Himalaya. Flowering: July-September.