Acilepis kerrii (Craib) Bunwong, Chantar. & S.C.Keeley, 2014

Bunwong, Sukhonthip, Chantaranothai, Pranom & Keeley, Sterling C., 2014, Revisions and key to the Vernonieae (Compositae) of Thailand, PhytoKeys 37, pp. 25-101 : 38

Acilepis kerrii (Craib) Bunwong, Chantar. & S.C.Keeley comb. nov.

Vernonia kerrii Craib, Bull. Misc. Inform., Kew 1914: 7. 1914.

Type.

Thailand, Me Nan, Sop Ngao, rock crevices by river, A.F.G. Kerr 2404 (holotype: K!, isotype: BM!).

Description.

Perennial herbs, ca. 30 cm tall. Stems erect, basal branching, inconspicuously ribbed, puberulous. Leaves cauline, 4-6 by 1-2.5 cm, oblanceolate or elliptic, margin slightly serrate, apex acute or obtuse, base cuneate, chartaceous; both surfaces pubescent; lateral veins 7-10-paired; petioles up to 3 mm long. Capitulescences terminal or axillary, solitary or in loose panicled. Capitula campanulate, 10-11 mm long, subsessile or pedunculate. Involucres campanulate, in 4-5 series, 7-8 mm long. Phyllaries margin piliferous, outer surface nearly glabrous; the outer and the middle ones ovate, apex acute; the inner ones ovate-lanceolate, apex acute. Florets 20-25; corollas funnelform, purple, glandular, corolla tubes 6.5-7 mm long; corolla lobes 2-3 mm long. Achenes narrowly turbinate, ca. 3 mm long, 10-ribbed, puberulous. Pappus bristles, the inner ones 6-7 mm long.

Distribution.

Thailand: Chiang Mai, Nan. Endemic.

Specimens examined.

Thailand, Me Nan, Sop Ngao, 21 Feb 1912, A.F.G. Kerr 2404 (K, BM); Chiang Mai, Doi Fa Hom Pok national park, 20°2.72'N, 99°8.74'E, 24 Feb 1958, Th. Sørensen, K. Larsen & B. Hansen 1602 (K).

Diagnostic characters.

Acilepis kerrii can be distinguished by its subsessile capitula in axillary leaves.

Ecology.

Rock cliff by river in hill evergreen forest, alt. 700-1400 m; flowering February.

Vernacular name.

Muang Dong (ม่วงดง).