Saussurea sobarocephaloides Y. S. Chen, 2015

Chen, You-Sheng & Yuan, Qian, 2015, Twenty-six new species of Saussurea (Asteraceae, Cardueae) from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions, Phytotaxa 213 (3), pp. 159-211 : 200-202

22. Saussurea sobarocephaloides Y. S. Chen , sp. nov. ( Fig. 22 )

Type :— CHINA. Sichuan: Leibo County, grassy slope, 3000 m, 14 August 1934, T. T. Yu 3752 (holotype PE00454194 ; isotype PE)

Herbs perennial, to 80 cm tall. Caudex branched or simple, ascending, with numerous fibrous lacerate residue of old leaves. Stems erect, simple but branched in upper part, 5–7 mm in diameter, densely yellowish white villous and glandular hairy. Leaves sessile, blade oblong to oblong-ovate, both surfaces sparsely white puberulent, base decurrent to stem-wing, apex acute, margin denticulate, lower leaves 16–18.5 cm long, 4.5–5.5 cm wide, upper leaves smaller, 7–9 cm long, 3.5–4.2 cm wide. Capitula usually 4–10, in loose corymbs; peduncles 5–16 cm long, densely yellowish white villous and glandular hairy. Involucre hemispheric, 2.5–3 cm in diameter, 2.5–3 cm high. Phyllaries in 5–6 rows, imbricate, brownish, coriaceous; outermost ones densely hairy, ca. 1.8 cm long, basal part coriaceous, broad, ca. 3 mm wide, upper part leafy, narrow and linear, 1–1.5 mm wide; inner ones sparesly hairy to nearly glabrous, ovate to oblong, 13–15 mm long, 4–4.5 mm wide, margin entire and dark purplish, apex obtuse; innermost ones glabrous, linear-oblong, 18–20 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide. Receptacle densely bristly, bristles yellowish, 6–8 mm long, persistent. Florets numerous, bisexual, fertile, corolla tubular-funnelform, ca. 17 mm long, purplish red to dark purple, glabrous, tube ca. 10 mm long, limb ca. 7 mm long, throat ca. 1 mm in diameter, lobes ca. 4 mm long. Anthers ca. 8 mm long, apical appendage acute, basal appendages obtuse, auricles with lacerate tails ca. 2 mm long. Style ca. 2 cm long, branches ca. 4 mm long. Achenes cylindroid, ca. 5 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, glabrous, brown, with 5–7 distinct ribs, apex with conspicuous denticulate crown, base truncate. Pappus pale brown; outer bristles 3–4 mm long, scabrid; inner bristles 15–18, ca. 14 mm long, plumose.

Distribution and habitat:— Saussurea sobarocephaloides occurs in southern Sichuan and northeastern Yunnan. It grows in grassy slopes, meadows or thickets at altitudes of 2800–3700 m.

Phenology:—Flowering and fruiting from July to September.

Etymology:—The specific epithet reflects the similarity of the new species to S. sobarocephala Diels (1905: 108) . Chinese name: LJṞĂṈLẄ.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— CHINA. Sichuan: Meigu County, Huangmaogeng , thickets and meadows, 3200 m, 30 July 1976, Sichuan Vegetation Expedition 13298 ( CDBI, PE) ; Hongya County, Hongya Forest Platation, top of Tuanbao Shan , in meadows, 2800 m, 20 July 1994, W. K. Bao 3200 ( CDBI) ; Yunnan: Dongchuan County, Yinmin Xiang, Shanfengkou , meadows, 3700 m, 28 July 1985, S. B. Lan 488 ( PE) .

Discussion:—In our molecular tree, S. sobarocephaloides is shown to be rather closely related to S. woodiana Hemsley (1892: 312) . It is somewhat similar to S. woodiana in its leaves densely hairy on both surfaces, petioles winged, capitula size, phyllaries in 5–6 rows and densely villous, pappus pale brown, but differs by its distinct stems to 80 cm tall (vs. plants nearly stemless or shortly stemmed), capitula 4–10, in loose corymbs (vs. usually 1, sometimes 2–3), phyllary apex obtuse (vs. long acuminate), inner pappus ca. 14 mm long (vs. ca. 22 mm long).

Saussurea sobarocephaloides is most similar to S. sobarocephala Diels (1905: 108) in its habit, sessile leaves, capitula size, and phyllaries and pappus color, but differs by its stems and peduncles densely yellowish-white villous and glandular hairy (vs. sparsely arachnoid pubescent), leaf blade larger in size, both surfaces sparsely white puberulent (vs. smaller in size, both surfaces glabrous), and stem wings usually entire (vs. usually toothed). Saussurea sobarocephaloides occurs in southern Sichuan and northeastern Yunnan, whereas S. sobarocephala occurs in northern Sichuan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Hebei.

Figures

FIGURE 22. Saussurea sobarocephaloides. A. Habit (lower part). B. Habit (upper part). C. Outer pappus bristle. D. Inner pappus bristle. E. Floret (with pappus removed). F.Anthers. G. Style branches.H. Floret. I. Leaf section (adaxial and abaxial surfaces). J. Phyllaries (from left to right, outer to inner series). All from T. T. Yu 3752 (PE). Drawn by Mr. Y.X. Zhu.