Cirsium taliense (Jeffrey) Léveillé (1916: 43)

Jin, Zi-Chao & Chen, You-Sheng, 2021, The identity of Cirsium henryi (Asteraceae, Cardueae), Phytotaxa 487 (3), pp. 263-272 : 264-266

2. Cirsium taliense (Jeffrey) Léveillé (1916: 43) . Cnicus taliensis J. F. Jeffrey (1912: 196) Figs 3–4 .

Type:— CHINA. Yunnan, around Tali (=Dali) and the valley north of Tali Lake (=Erhai), 15 Oct. 1904, G . Forrest 10 (lectotype designated here, E00383866 !) ; Yunnan, Maire 1289 (original syntype, E) .

= Cirsium chlorolepis Petrak ex Handel-Mazzetti (1926: 109) , syn. nov.

Type:— CHINA. Yunnan, Yunnanfu (=Kunming), 30 July 1916, Schoch 279 (holotype, WU0061227 !) .

Description:— Root tuberoid. Capitula nodding. Phyllaries green or purplish red. Corolla white or light yellow. For full description see Shi & Werner (2011) under Cirsium chlorolepis .

Phenology:— Flowering from July to October.

Distribution and habitat:— Cirsium taliense is distributed in Yunnan province of China. C. taliense is not distributed in Guizhou. The only specimen identified by Shih (1984) as C. taliense from Guizhou is actually a misidentification of C. botryodes Petrak (1926: 109) . Cirsium taliense grows in roadside and grasslands on mountain slopes at elevations 1300–3000 m above sea level.

Additional specimens examined:— CHINA. Yunnan: Anning, Z. Y. Wu 92 (KUN0727667); Binchuan, Y. S. Bao et al. 291 (KUN0727674, KUN0727675); Dali, Z. J. Yi et al. 3608 (KUN0975988); Kunming, B.Y. Qiu 77749 (CDBI0149196, KUN0727669), B. Y. Qiu 60124 (CDBI0149193, KUN0727668), B. Y. Qiu 80-56 (0727670), T. N. Liou 13865 (PE00455479, PE00455483), T. N. Liou 019304 (PE00455480), Anonymous 2151 (PE00455481), H. Koyama et al. 200 (KUN0727671), G. X. Liang 95 (KUN0727657); Lijiang, T. T. Yu 15505 (PE00455482, PE00455483, KUN0727655, KUN0727656), Hideaki Ohba et al. 86 (KUN0727672), S. D. Zhang al et. L-071 (KUN1496027), S. D. Zhang al et. L-073 (KUN1496090).

Notes:— In the protologue of Cirsium taliense, Jeffrey (1912) cited two collections, i.e. G. Forrest 10 and Maire 1289. So these two specimens are syntypes. Here we designate one sheet of G. Forrest 10 in E (E00383866; Fig. 3 A ) as the lectotype of C. taliense . In the protologue, the author compared the species with C. henryi , stating that C. taliense is very similar to C. henryi , but differs in the florets of C. taliense are twice as long, and the leaves scabrid and much more spinous. Shih (1984) treated it as the synonym of the Cirsium henryi , and this treatment was followed in Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae (Shih 1987) and Flora of China (Shi & Werner 2011).

Our examination of type specimens of Cirsium taliense and C. henryi and observations on living plants agreed with the view of Jeffrey that C. taliense is quite distinct from C. henryi by leaves adaxially covered densely spinules and abaxially covered sparse spinules and no obvious spinules at the margin of phyllaries. These traits do not belong to the sect. Isolepis which C. henryi belongs to, but in accordance with the characteristics of sect. Eptitrachys. Thus C. taliense is readily distinguishable from C. henryi , but not essentially different from C. chlorolepis Petrak ex Handel- Mazzetti (1926: 109), which belongs to sect. Eptitrachys. Cirsium chlorolepis was described on the basis of the collection, Schoch 279 ( Fig. 2 D, E, F ), from Yunnan province of China. They have no obvious differences in main traits between their type specimens, but there are some differences in the shape of leaves and density of spinules of phyllaries abaxially. Through extensive herbarium survey, we found that C. chlorolepis is itself indeed somewhat variable in the leaf and density of spinules of phyllaries abaxially.

It seems likely that Shih (1984) did not see the type materials of Cirsium taliense , since the type material in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Herbarium (E) was not determined by him. In the article of Shih, it is mentioned that there is no combination of phyllaries pectinately fringed with spinules and leaves adaxially covered with spinules in the sect. Eptitrachys. If he had examined the type, he would not treated it as the synonym of C. henryi . Cirsium taliense was merged into C. henryi probably because of the two specimens (T. T. Yu 12405; T. T. Yu 11849) in PE, which were misidentified as C. taliense by Ling and Shih (1984), but in fact C. forrestii . Since Cirsium taliense was published earlier than C. chlorolepis , we reduce C. chlorolepis to its synonym.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Living plants of Cirsium forrestii (A & B) and Cirsium henryi (C & D). A. habitat of C. forrestii; B. capitulum of C. forrestii; C. habitat of C. henryi; D. capitulum of C. henryi. A & B: photos by You-Sheng Chen from Dongchuan, Yunnan, China. C & D: photos by Wei Du from Shengnongjia, Hubei, China.

FIGURE 3. Specimens of Cirsium taliense. A–C. China, Yunnan, Dali, G. Forrest 10 (E00383866, lectotype of Cirsium taliense); B. capitulum; C. leaf; D–F. China, Yunnan, Schoch 279 (WU0061227, lectotype of C. chlorolepis); E. capitulum; F. leaf.

FIGURE 4. Living plants of Cirsium taliense. A. habitat; B. green capitulum; C. longitudinal section of capitulum; D. red capitulum; E. root; F. cauline leaves; G. basal leaves; H. achenes; I. florets; J. pappus; K. phyllaries; L. anthers. A–L: photos by Zi-Chao Jin from Lijiang, Yunnan, China.