Cirsium forrestii (Diels) Léveillé (1916: 41)

Jin, Zi-Chao & Chen, You-Sheng, 2021, The identity of Cirsium henryi (Asteraceae, Cardueae), Phytotaxa 487 (3), pp. 263-272 : 266-271

3. Cirsium forrestii (Diels) Léveillé (1916: 41) . Cnicus forrestii Diels (1912: 196) . Fig. 2 A, B, C and Fig. 5 .

Type:— CHINA. Yunnan, Lichang (=Lijiang), 15 June 1906, G . Forrest 2373 (holotype, E0038389 !) .

= Cirsium melanoplepis Petrak (1938: 48)

Type: — CHINA. Yunnan, Likiang (= Lijiang ), 15 May 1922, J. F . Rock 4751 (lectotype designated here, E00383880 !; isolectotype US 00116136!) ; Yunnan, Lichiang (= Lijiang), G . Forrest 6215 (original syntype, E00459670 !) .

Description: —Herbs 30–50 cm tall, perennial. Stems erect, branched above, rarely unbranched, unwinged, with dense multicellular hairs. Leaves concolorous, surface green, with ± dense multicellular hairs. Basal and lower cauline leaves petiolate; leaf blade lanceolate, oblanceolate, or ± narrowly elliptic, 10–18 × 4–8 cm, pinnatilobate or pinnatisect; segments 5–8 pairs, elliptic, lanceolate, or triangular, with unequal triangular teeth laterally spiny and with an apical 6–7 mm spine; terminal segment largest. Middle and upper cauline leaves similar but sessile and semiamplexicaul and gradually smaller upward. Capitula corymbose or paniculate, erect or rarely nodding. Involucre campanulate, ca. 2 cm in diam., glabrous. Phyllaries in ca. 6 rows, green, lacking wings and scarious appendage, all of similar length; outer and middle phyllaries narrowly triangular, 11–14 × 1.5–2 mm, pectinately fringed with 2.5–3 mm spinules, apex narrowed into a spinule; inner phyllaries triangular to lanceolate, 13–14 × ca. 2 mm, not spinulose. Florets bisexual. Corolla purple, ca. 1.2 cm, tube ca. 0.7 cm. Achene brownish, ca. 4 mm. Pappus bristles brownish, to 1.1 cm.

Phenology:— Flowering from June to October.

Distribution and habitat:— Cirsium forrestii is distributed in Yunnan and Sichuan province of China. It grows in meadows at elevations 2700–3500 m above sea level.

Additional specimens examined:— CHINA. Sichuan: Emeishan, C. Q . Li 2856 ( PE00455653 ), T. H . Tu 608 ( PE00455659 , PE00607935 ), W. P . Fang et al. 20657 ( PE00455662 ), X. L . Jiang et al. 31352 ( PE00455663 ), T. N . Liou at el. 1203 ( PE00455664 ), F. Z . Wang 23425 ( KUN0727788 ), C. Q . Li 3467 ( KUN0727791 ); Leibo, Econ. Plant Exped. 0821 ( PE00455650 , PE00455651 ), Leshan, S. L . Sun 1037 ( PE00455668 , KUN0727790 ), Wuhan Univ. 7842 ( KUN0727789 ); Lixian, C Shih. et al. 12811 ( PE00455658 ); Maoxian, Maowen Exped. 2585 ( PE00455652 , PE00455661 ); Yanyuan, Qinghai-Xizang Exped. 12395 ( KUN0727792 ); Zhaojue, Anonymous 12801 ( CDBI0149191 , CDBI0149192 ) . Yunnan: Kunming, Yiliang , H. T . Tsai 52169 ( KUN0727771 ); Lijiang, G . Forrest 6215 ( E00459670 , syntype of C. melanoplepis ), PE Hengduan Mountain Exped. 02501 ( PE00455672 , PE00455673 ), PE Hengduan Mountain Exped. 2464 ( PE00455677 , PE00455678 , PE00455669 ), C. W . Wang 71482 ( KUN0727773 ), C. W . Wang 71482 ( KUN0727773 ); Shangri-la, T. T . Yu 11849 ( PE00455679 , PE00455671 ), T. T . Yu 12405 ( PE00455680 , PE00455670 , KUN0727774 ), Zhongdian Exped. 2814 ( KUN0727779 ) .

Notes:— Shih (1984) treated Cirsium melanoplepis and C. forrestii as synonyms of C. henryi and this treatment was followed in Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae (Shi 1987) and Flora of China (Shi& Werner 2011). After examining of the type specimens of Cirsium forrestii and C. melanoplepis , we found these two taxa are readily distinguishable. Morphologcally, C. forrestii is readily distinguishable from C. henryi by the stems with dense multicellular hairs (vs. sparsely hairs or glabrous), leaf blade pinnatilobate or pinnatisect (vs. pinnatilobate), segments elliptic, lanceolate, or triangular (vs. elliptic), capitula erect or rarely nodding (vs. nodding), outer and middle phyllaries narrowly triangular (vs. lanceolate or linear), pectinately fringed with spinules (vs. dense spinules). A detailed morphological comparison between C. forrestii and C. henryi is given in Table 1. Geographically, C. forrestii is distributed in Yunnan and Sichuan province, whereas C. henryi is distributed in Hubei, and both are clearly geographically separated ( Fig. 6 ).

Cirsium melanoplepis was described on the basis of two collections, J. F. Rock 4751 ( Fig. 3 A, B ) and G. Forrest 6215 ( Fig. 3 C ) from Lijiang, Yunnan, China. So these two specimens are syntypes. Here we designate one sheet of J. F. Rock 4751 in E (E00383880; Fig. 5 A ) as the lectotype of C. melanoplepis . In the protologue, the author stated that it is similar to C. forrestii , but differed by its pinnatisect leaves and triangular segments. Through examination of the type materials and other specimens, we found that C. forrestii and C. melanoplepis have no differences in important traits. There are continuous variations between pinnatilobate and pinnatisect leaves of this species. In the identification of this species, the shape of leaves is not an important character. Obviously, C. melanoplepis and C. forrestii are conspecific.

On the basis of the above analyses, we reinstate the independent specific status of Cirsium forrestii . Because C. forrestii was published earlier than C. melanoplepis , we reduce C. melanoplepis 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 5. Specimens of Cirsium forrestii. A. China, Yunnan, Lijiang, J. F. Rock 4751(E00383880, lectotype of C. melanoplepis); B. Same locality, J. F. Rock 4751(US00116136, isolectotype of C. melanoplepis); C. Same locality, G. Forrest 6215 (E00459670 original syntype of C. melanoplepis); D. Same locality, G. Forrest 2373 (E00383891, holotype of C. forrestii).

FIGURE 6. Distribution map of Cirsium henryi (black square), C. forrestii (blue circle) and C. taliense (red diamond).