Saussurea xiaojinensis Y.S. Chen, 2014

Chen, You-Sheng, 2014, Five new species of Saussurea (Asteraceae, Cardueae) from the Hengduan Mountains region, southwestern China, Phytotaxa 170 (3), pp. 141-154 : 149-152

5. Saussurea xiaojinensis Y.S. Chen , sp. nov. ( Figs. 5 & 8 )

Type:— CHINA. Sichuan: Xiaojin, Fubian Xiang, Gaoka Cun , 31°19’27” N, 102°29’54” E, 2850 m, 29 July 2009, Y. S . Chen & Z. H . Wang 9169 (holotype PE; isotypes KUN, PE) .

Perennial herbs from short rhizome, 60–80 cm tall. Rhizome slender, sometimes apically branched, with fibrous lacerate residue of old leaves. Stems erect, 3–5 cm in diameter, densely grayish villous. Leaves sparsely arranged along the stem, sessile, blade oblong or lanceolate, 7–25 × 1.5–7.5 cm, uppermost leaves smaller, adaxially green, glabrous, abaxially whitish gray, densely white pubescent, margin coarsely toothed, apex acuminate, base semiamplexicaul, decurrent into stems forming wings. Capitula in sparse corymbs. Involucre campanulate to subglobose, 1–1.5 cm in diameter. Phyllaries in ca. 6 rows, imbricate, margin entire; outer phyllaries green to purple or blackish purple, triangulate-oblong, 8–10 × 2.5–3 mm, leathery, sparsely pubescent or nearly glabrous, apex acuminate; inner phyllaries sparsely pubescent or glabrous, green or dark purple, lanceolate, 13–15 × 2–3 mm, apex acuminate. Receptacle flat, densely covered with persistent yellowish bristles, bristles spine-like, 6–9 mm long. Florets 20–23; corolla 14–15 mm, purple, tubular-funnelform, glabrous, tube ca. 7 mm long, throat 3–4 mm long and 1 mm in diameter, with 5 lobes ca. 4 mm long; anthers dark purple, ca. 6 mm long, apical appendages acute, basal appendages obtuse, auricles with lacerate tails ca. 1 mm long. Achenes cylindroid, ca. 4 mm long, ca. 1.3 mm wide, glabrous, longitudinally striate. Pappus heteromorphic, biseriate, yellowish white; outer bristles more numerous than the inner ones, scabrid, caducous, 4–5 mm long; inner bristles ca. 13, plumose, persistent, connate at base, ca. 9 mm long.

Distribution and habitat:— Saussurea xiaojinensis is currently known only from two localities in Xiaojin County,

Sichuan Province, China. It grows in thickets or on grassy slopes at altitudes between 2840 and 2900 m. Phenology :— Flowering and fruiting from July to August. Etymology:— The specific epithet is derived from the type locality, Xiaojin County, western Sichuan Province,

China.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— CHINA. Sichuan: Xiaojin, north of the city of Xiaojin on road (highway 210) to Maerkang (= Barkam) at Fubian Xiang, Gaoka Cun, remnant Abies -Salix forest on north facing slope and lower part of ravine and badly disturbed dwarf Quercus -shrub community on dry south and west facing slopes, 31°19’27” N, 102°29’54” E, 2865 m, 30 July 2007, D.E. Boufford et al. 38692 (A); Xiaojin, Shalong Xiang, remnant Larix - Quercus forests on slope, margins of cultivated fields and disturbed areas along streams, open slope and under shrubs, 30°57’10” N, 102°17’48” E, 2903 m, 26 July 2007, D.E. Boufford et al. 38231 (A, PE).

Discussion:— Saussurea xiaojinensis belongs to S. subgen. Saussurea sect. Lagurostemon owing to its welldeveloped stems, caudex not fibrously split, capitula numerous, and leaf blade oblong or lanceolate. The species is distinct in its leaves sessile, base semiamplexicaul, decurrent into stems forming wings. It is similar to S. sylvatica Maximowicz (1881: 495) in general appearance but differs in several characters (see Table 3 for the detail). Saussurea xiaojinensis is currently known only from the type locality, i.e. Xiaojin, Sichuan, China, growing at altitudes between 2840 and 2900 m, whereas S. sylvatica occurs widely in China (Gansu, Hebei, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Sichuan), growing at altitudes between 1600 and 4500 m (3200–4300 m in Sichuan).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Saussurea xiaojinensis. A. Habit. B. Capitulum. C. Achene and pappus. D. Floret. E–H. Phyllaries (from outer to inner series).All from Y.S. Chen & Z.H. Wang 9169 (PE). Illustration by Ms. P. Liu.

FIGURE 8. Saussurea xiaojinensis. A. Habitat. B. Living plant.