Saussurea sinuatoides var. siuatoides("Takaohigotai")
Japanese name: タカオヒゴタイ Scientific name:Saussurea sinuatoides var. siuatoides
[Overview]
A perennial 30–60 cm tall, growing in deciduous forests from low mountains to mountain zones.
The stem is wingless and branches in the upper part.
There are basal leaves and alternate leaves on the stem.
The basal leaves and the leaves on the lower part of the stem are ovate, 7–11 cm long, and herbaceous, usually with a deep constriction in the middle that gives them a violin-like shape.
Both surfaces of the leaves have short hairs, and the underside is not bluish white.
The leaves have long petioles.
3–8 flower heads are borne at the stem tip; they are about 2 cm across and consist only of pale red-purple tubular florets.
The involucre is cylindrical, about 1.3 cm long, and the involucral bracts are in 11–12 rows, thin in texture, with pointed tips.
The fruit is an achene with a pappus.
[Notes]
The Japanese name comes from its discovery on Mt. Takao in Tokyo.
