Saussurea liangshanensis 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 : 143-144

2. Saussurea liangshanensis Y.S. Chen , sp. nov. ( Figs. 2 , 7A & 7B )

Type:— CHINA. Sichuan: Muli, Kala, 912 Forest Plantation , in sparse Abies forests, 3300 m, 11 October 2007, Y. S . Chen 7547 (holotype PE; isotype PE) .

Perennial herbs from short rhizome, 40–80 cm tall. Rhizome slender, with fibrous residue of old leaves. Stem erect, ca. 4 mm in diameter, glabrous. Basal leaves usually persistent at anthesis. Leaves mostly basal; lower stem leaves petiolate, petiole 1–2 cm, blade elliptic to ovate-elliptic; upper stem leaves usually smaller, sessile, blade oblong to elliptic, 5–18 × 0.5–4.5 cm, adaxially green, glabrous, abaxially pale green, glabrous, margin serrate, apex acute, base semiamplexicaul, decurrent into stems forming usually dentate wings. Capitula in terminal sparse corymbs. Involucre campanulate, ca. 5 mm in diameter and 12 mm high. Phyllaries in ca. 5 rows, imbricate, margin entire, abaxially dark black along margin and usually covered with sparse short hairs; outer phyllaries triangular-oblong, ca. 5 × 1.5 mm, apex acuminate; the second row phyllaries triangular-ovate, ca. 5 × 1.5–2 mm, apex acuminate; the fourth row phyllaries oblong, ca. 9 × 1.3 mm; the innermost phyllaries oblong-lanceolate, ca. 9 × 1.2 mm, apex acuminate. Receptacle flat, densely covered with persistent whitish yellow bristles; bristles filiform, 4–5 mm long. Florets 6–15, corolla tubular-funnelform, glabrous, tube ca. 5 mm long, throat 2–3 mm long and ca. 0.8 mm in diameter, with 5 lobes 2–3 mm long; anthers dark purple, ca. 4 mm long, apical appendages acute, basal appendages obtuse, auricles with lacerate tails ca. 1 mm long. Achenes cylindroid, ca. 2.8 mm long, ca. 0.8 mm wide, glabrous, longitudinally striate. Pappus of two series; inner row of whitish yellow plumose bristles, bristles 16–18, connate at base, 7–8 mm long; outer series of scabrid bristles ca. 3 mm long.

Distribution and habitat:— Saussurea liangshanensis is distributed in Jiulong, Leibo, Muli, Xide, Yanyuan, Yuexi and Zhaojue Counties of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwestern Sichuan, China. It grows on grassy slopes, in sparse thickets, along forests margins, or in sparse fir forests at altitudes between 3000 and 3900 m.

Phenology:—Flowering and fruiting from August to October.

Etymology: —The specific epithet is derived from the type locality, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwestern Sichuan, China.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — CHINA. Sichuan: Jiulong , Xiake, 3660 m, 18 August 1980 , Z. A. Liu 22913 ( CDBI); Leibo , alpine meadows, 3300 m, 14 August 1934 , T. T. Yu 3771 ( PE); Muli, Chabulang , Zhengxi pasture, 3900 m, in Abies forests, 8 September 1983 , Qinghai-Xizang Exped. 13714 ( KUN, PE); Xide , mountain pass between Yuexi and Mianshan of Xide, 28°28’41.32” N, 102°25’12.76” E, 3000 m, grassy slope in thickets, 21 July 2011 , Y. S. Chen & Y. C. Bi 11-021 ( PE); Yanyuan , Bailingshan, in thickets and grassy slopes, 3700 m, 8 August 1983 , Qinghai - Xizang Exped. 12731 ( KUN, PE); Zhaojue, Jiefanggou , grassy slopes beside thickets, 27°51’59.23” N, 102°31’23.74” E, 3100–3200 m, 24 July 2011 , Y. S. Chen & Y. C. Bi 11-044 ( PE) .

Discussion:— Saussurea liangshanensis belongs to S. subgen. Saussurea sect. Saussurea because of the welldeveloped and not scapiform stem, numerous capitula only ca. 5 mm in diameter, and the lacerate anther tails. The species is distinct in the leaf base decurrent into stem and forming usually a dentate wing, phyllaries with apex acuminate, and achenes very small. It is similar to S. parviflora ( Poiret 1805: 554) Candolle (1810: 200) , S. hemsleyi Lipschitz (1966: 1497) , S. neoserrata Nakai (1931: 519) and S. candolleana ( Candolle 1838: 541) Schultz Bipontinus (1846: 331) in habit, leaf blade shape and the winged stem, but the distribution ranges of these mutually similar species are different.

Saussurea liangshanensis occurs only in southwestern Sichuan. Shih & Raab-Straube (2011) recorded S. parviflora to occur in China (Gansu, Hebei, Ningxia, Qinghai, Sichuan, Xinjiang), Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia. Our examination of the authentic material of S. parviflora from Russia, however, has shown that those specimens from Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai, Hubei and Shaanxi formerly identified as S. parviflora should be referred to S. hemsleyi , whereas those from Hebei, Nei Mongol, Heilongjiang and Jinlin belong to S. neoserrata . Saussurea candolleana is distributed in the Himalaya region (southern Xizang of China, Bhutan, Nepal, India and Kashmir) and was sometimes treated as a synonym of S. parviflora . A comparison of S. liangshanensis , S. parviflora , S. hemsleyi , S. neoserrata and S. candolleana is given in Table 1.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Saussurea liangshanensis. A. Habit. B. Achene. C. Pappus. D. Corolla. E–J. Phyllaries (from inner to outer series).All from Y.S. Chen 7547 (PE). Illustration by Ms. P. Liu.

FIGURE 7. Saussurea liangshanensis (A, B) and S. qamdoensis (C, D) in the wild.