Saussurea nyingchiensis 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 : 188-190

16. Saussurea nyingchiensis Y. S. Chen , sp. nov. ( Fig. 16 )

Type:— CHINA. Xizang: Nyingchi County, the pass of Sejila Shan , alpine meadows, 29°37 ʹ N, 94°39 ʹ E, 4570 m, 10 August 2009, Y. S. Chen & Z. H. Wang 9395 (holotype PE; isotypes PE) .

Herbs perennial, nearly stemless, rosulate, caespitose. Caudex elongate, thick, fibrous, branched at ground level. Flowering stems several, erect, simple, base with several vegetative shoots and enclosed with numerous withered dark brown leaves of previous years. Rosulate leaves shortly petiolate or subsessile; leaf blade lanceolate to oblong, 2–8 cm long, 3–8.5 mm wide, pinnatisect, with 7–17 paired lobes, lobes ovate-triangular to quadrangular, mucronate, margin with 1–2 teeth, adaxial surface green, glabrous, with conspicuous midrib, abaxial surface densely white-tomentose, with conspicuous midvein; lobes transversely oblong, broadly ovate or triangular, 2–3 mm long, usually with 2 irregular teeth, each tooth with a mucron, apex acute and mucronate. Capitula solitary, in center of leaf rosette. Involucre broadly campanulate, 1–1.8 cm in diameter, 1.5–2.3 cm high. Phyllaries in ca. 5 rows, imbricate, abaxial surface sparsely arachnoid; outer phyllaries triangular-ovate to ovate, 7–9 mm long, 3.5–3.8 mm wide, coriaceous, purplish-brown, apex acute and reflexed; inner phyllaries lanceolate, 13–18 mm long, 1.8–3.5 mm wide, base coriaceous, light brown, apex acute and reflexed. Receptacle convex, bristles 3–5 mm long. Corolla purple, 18–20 mm long, bright bluish purple; tube 11–13 mm long; limb 5–7 mm long; lobes 3–4 mm long, reflexed at flowering. Anthers sagitatte, ca. 6 mm long (including tails); tails lacerate, ca. 1 mm long. Achenes cylindroid, ribbed, glabrous, sometimes rugulose, 3–3.5 mm long, with pericarpal crown on rim. Pappus light brown; outer pappus bristles caducous, scabrid, 3–4 mm long; inner pappus bristles 21–25, plumose, persistent, 13–14 mm long.

Distribution and habitat:— Saussurea nyingchiensis is currently known only from Nyingchi, Xizang, China. It grows in alpine meadows at altitudes of 3700–4700 m.

Phenology:—Flowering and fruiting from August to September.

Etymology:—The specific epithet is derived from its type locality, Nyingchi County. Chinese name: ẆẐṈLẄ. Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— CHINA. Xizang: Nyingchi County, Sejila Shan, alpine meadows,

4400 m, 17 September 1980, Z. C. Ni et al. 1713 (PE); Nyingchi County, the pass of Sejila Shan, alpine meadows, 4450 m, 17 September 1980, Plateau Group 15669 (PE); Nyingchi County, west slopes of Sejila Shan, 3700 m, 2 August 1975, Qinghai-Xizang Expedition 751141 (HNWP, PE).

Discussion:—No species are shown to be closely related to S. nyingchiensis in our molecular tree. It is very similar to S. rolwalingensis Fujikawa & Ohba (2007: 328) in its nearly stemless and caespitose habit, leaf blade lanceolate or oblong and pinnatisect, capitula solitary, but differs by its leaf lobes ovate-triangular to quadrangular, margin with 1–2 teeth (vs. oblong, broadly ovate or triangular, with 2–4 irregular teeth), capitula 1–1.8 cm in diameter (vs. 0.5–1 cm in diameter), and outer pappus scabrid (vs. plumose). It is also similar to S. polystichoides Hooker (1881: 369) in its leaf blade pinnatisect, capitula solitary, midvein less than 1 mm wide, outer pappus scabrid, but differs by its caudex robust (vs. slender), leaf segments ovate-triangular to quadrangular, margin with 1–2 teeth (vs. quadrangular, margin denticulate, with 5–9 teeth), and phyllary apex reflexed (vs. inner ones appressed, outermost ones patent). A comparison of S. nyingchiensis with related species is given in Table 13.

Figures

FIGURE 16. Saussurea nyingchiensis. A. Habit. B. Anthers. C. Style branches. D. Outer pappus bristle. E. Inner pappus bristle. F. Floret (with pappus removed). G. Leaf sections (with adaxial and abaxial surfaces). H. Phyllaries (from left to right, outer to inner series). I. Floret.All from Y. S. Chen 9395 (PE). Drawn by Mr. Y.X. Zhu.