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Intergeneric hybridizations were produced between Elachanthemum intricatum (Franch.) Ling et Ling and Opisthopappus taihangensis (Y. Ling) C. Shih without emasculation. About 12 and 16 % seed settings were obtained in reciprocal hybridizations. 17 seedlings germinated from 183 seeds from Elachanthemum intricatum (Franch.) Ling et Ling as female parent and 13 seedlings germinated from 109 seeds of Opisthopappus taihangensis (Y. Ling) C. Shih as female parent. 14 and 8 plants survived to maturity respectively. Only one progeny from Elachanthemum intricatum (Franch.) Ling et Ling in these hybridizations was found to be a true hybrid from the morphological characteristics and sequences of nrDNA ITS. The leaves of this new hybrid show some conspicuous intermediate features. The new hybrid has 5–8 mini ray female florets in the outer row of capitula. It is perennial just like its paternal parent (Opisthopappus) in contrast to its biennial maternal parent (Elachanthemum).

Leaves Micromorphological Characteristics of Opisthopappus taihangensis and Opisthopappus longilobus from Taihang Mountain, China The micromorphological characteristics of Opisthopappus taihangensis and Opisthopappus longilobus leaves were observed using scanning electron microscope and was found that they differ in characteristics and density of glandular hairs, size and density of stomata, pattern of anticlinal wall, wax characteristics, size and density of salt vesicles. These differences mainly resulted from the microenvironment heterogeneity of these two species or different populations. The micromorphological characteristics of the leaves, stomata and salt vesicles could be regarded as important classification traits for O. taihangensis and O. longilobus. Correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant relationship between morphological characteristics, longitude and latitude. According to principal component analysis, the highest contribution came from the density of glandular hairs. All the 13 populations of Opisthopappus were gathered into two clusters based on the microstructural characteristics of their leaves. Three populations of O. longilobus were not gathered into a single cluster, but with different populations of O. taihangensis.