Doronicum elongate-leaved

Family Asteraceae. Native range - Siberia, the Caucasus, mountainous Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Alpine and subalpine meadows, stony screes, banks of mountain streams.

Doronicum elongate-leaved 12–50 cm tall. Rhizome short, at the neck bearing black membranous scales. Stem solitary, sinuous, sometimes reddish-violet above, thickened beneath the head and densely covered with simple and glandular hairs. Basal leaves elliptical up to 7 cm long and 3.5 cm wide, obtuse, on long petioles. Lower cauline leaves obovate-elongate, narrowed into broadly winged petioles 3–8 cm long or, like the upper ones, sessile, semi-clasping, entire or indistinctly toothed, glandular-ciliate, glabrous. Upper leaves small, oblong, acute, up to 4 cm long and 1 cm wide. Capitulum solitary, up to 5 cm in diameter (with ligulate flowers), on a long (up to 19 cm) peduncle. Involucre two-rowed with herbaceous, densely glandular-pubescent, acute, lanceolate bracts. Ligulate flowers pale yellow with two- or three-toothed tips, the bases externally hairy on the reflected margins and with glabrous tubes. Tubular flowers 5–6 mm long, glabrous, five-toothed. Achenes smooth, dark brown, with 10 longitudinal ribs, variable: marginal achenes without pappus, central ones appressed-hairy with pappi of white serrated bristles.