Cicerbita macrorhiza (Asteraceae)
Cicerbita is a low growing alpine wildflower from the Aster family. The sun-loving herbacious plant with a mounding habit produces clusters of blue-mauve flowers high above. Flowers from July-Sept. Local people use the plant to treat headaches. It is also used in Chinese medicine.
Photographed in the Valley of Flowers and nearby areas (Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve), Chamoli district, Garhwal (Uttaranchal).
This is my entry for Manisha’s Flower Fest, the A-Z of flowers.
A Mad Tea Party 
Anita, you have captured beautiful crisp images of a composite flower! The ray flower on the outside and the disk flowers in the middle. Gorgeous!! I looked up this flower and it’s also a native of Nepal. I love this!
Hi Manisha. Yes, they are a native of Nepal and are also found in Kashmir.
And, thanks for the help with the tags. I try to remember it for all the posts!
Gorgeous flower
Hey Anita, lovely entry! I envy you guys to be able to research all these wild beauties! Surprisingly three of this weeks entries are lilac in color:)Wish i had done a violet colored Cosmos:D
Hi Sree. I’m lucky to have a couple of books on the Wildflowers of the Himalayas (+ some elbow-grease on the Net) , otherwise reasearching in India in not at all easy! We don’t have the kind of public libraries there are in the US. I guess there’s a price for not paying our taxes honestly. And it is not just the lack of libraries…