Leontopodium jacotianum Beauverd

Family Description

Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, sometimes shrubs, rarely trees, tissues sometimes containing milky sap, glabrous, pubescent, tomentose, spinous or variously sessile- or stipitate-glandular. Leaves alternate or sometimes opposite, exstipulate (but sometimes with stipuliform appendages), entire, toothed, lobed or variously dissected. Individual flowers usually numerous, aggregated and ± sessile (briefly immersed to very shortly stipitate) on a common receptacle and surrunded by an involucre of 1-many series of phyllaries (involucral bracts),the whole comprising a capitulum; phyllaries free, rarely connate; capitula solitary to very many, rarely agreegrated into secondary capitulum-like glomerules.Receptable sometimes bearing paleae (scales), hairs or bristles.Flowers (florets)epigynous, bisexual, female, m ale(at least functionally so) or neuter (sterile). Calyx absent, often replaced on apex of ovary by a pappus of 1 or more series of bristles and / orscales. Corolla gamopetalous, tabular throughout or dilated or 1(-2)-lipped above,variously truncate or 1-5-toothed at apex (appices); rarely corolla absent. Stamens (1-)5, epipetalous, filaments free anthers laterally connate into a cylinder around style (free in one species). Ovary inferior, 1-celled with one basal ovule; style usually divided above into two branches, sometimes entire on male flowers, emerging through anther cylinder, first collecting and exposing pollen,later exposing stigmatic surfaces if bisexual. Fruit an achene (cypsela) usually bearing a persistent or deciduous pappus; pappus sessile or borne on a beak(rostrum).

Genus Description

Perennial, pulvinate, tufted or stoloniferous, tomentose herbs; flowering stems erect or absent. Leaves alternate, simple, entire, basal ones sometimes rosulate. Inflorescence terminal, of 1-12 (-20) crowded capitula usually surrounded by radiating inflorescence bracts conspicuous by colour and/ or texture of tomentum. Flowers unisexual, capitulate usually either discoid and dioecious or disciform and of two types borne on separate plants with one sex (usually female) much predominent; however in L. himalayanum discoid and disciform capitula may occur in the same inflorescence. Involucre campanulate, imbricate, several-seriate, phyllaries (pale) dark brown scarious at leat above. Receptacle flat or convexed, naked, glabrous. Corolla of female flowers filiform, 3-4 -toothed at apex. Corolla of male flowers naroowly tubular-campanulate, 5-toothed; styles oblong, bifid. Achenes oblong-ellipsoid, glabrous or papillose-pubescent, male ovaries equally developed in discoid and disciform capitula, papillose pubescence often reduced, pappus simple, white, deciduous, subequal to corolla, bristles coherent at base, thicker towards apex on male flowers.

Species description

Stoloniferous, forming mats, 6-28 cm, greyish (greyish-yellow) tomentose; stolons slender, elongate, usually naked (sometimes remotely squamate), terminated by a loose rosette of leaves. Leaves 7-25 mm, subobtuse to acumniate, usually brown-apiculate; rosette leaves linear, lorate-spathulate or oblanceolate, 1-3mm wide; cauline leaves lanceolate to lorate or linear with margins recurved, 1-5mm wide. Flowering stems 2-25cm. Capitula 4-9 (-18), all female or predominantly male or female, usually densely crowded; radiating bracts lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, 8-25 x 2.2-7mm, often long acuminate, more densely whitish (rarely yellowish or brownish) tomentose than cauline leaves. Phyllaries lanceolate to oblanceolate, 3-5mm, brown scarious above. Corollas 3-3.5mm. Achenes pubescent; male ovaries pubescent or subglabrous.