Strobilanthes lamiifolia - Mint-Leaf Coneflower

Mint-Leaf Coneflower is a much-branched perennial herb 1-2 ft tall. Flowers are blue, 3.8-4.5 cm, velvet-hairy, tube gently curved, gradually widened from base to about 1.2 cm at mouth. Sepal-cup is 9-14 mm, glandular-fringed with hairs, sepals oblong-elliptic, one distinctly longer than others. Flowers are borne in short dense spikes at branch-ends on main stem and on short, simple branchlets from upper leaf axils. Flower-spikes are 2-5 cm, carried on flower-cluster-stalks 0-6 cm, velvet-hairy. Bracts are concave, ovate-elliptic, overlapping, 1.1-1.7 cm, usually rounded toothed, velvet-hairy, dull green, bracteoles pale green, oblong elliptic, 9-14mm, sparsely fringed with hairs. Stems are prostrate, often rooting at nodes. Leaves are equal, ovate-elliptic to obovate, 1-7 x 1-4 cm, pointed, narrowed at base and often decurrent, rounded toothed or sawtoothed, thinly hairy on both surfaces, stalked below, nearly stalkless above; leaf-stalks 0-3 cm. Capsule is 1.2 cm, almost hairless. Mint-Leaf Coneflower is found in dry grasslands and open pine forests, at altitudes of 1000-2600 m, in China South-Central, East Himalaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Tibet.