Saussurea pseudosimpsoniana 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 : 166

4. Saussurea pseudosimpsoniana Y. S. Chen , sp. nov. ( Fig. 4 )

Type:— CHINA. Xizang: Nangxian County, Jindong , Laiyi , alpine scree, 28°52 ʹ N, 93°21 ʹ E, 4832 m, 10 September 2012, FLPH Tibet Expedition 12-1086 (holotype PE; isotype PE) .

Herbs perennial, 10–15 cm tall, polycarpic. Caudex stout, branched, with several sterile leaf rosettes and flowering stems. Stems solitary or several, ca. 7 mm in diameter, erect, simple, usually hidden by reflexed leaves; stems, cauline leaves and synflorescence covered with dense white or blackish pink wool-like multicellular hairs. Rosette and lower stem leaves shortly petiolate; leaf blade lanceolate to elliptic, 4–6 cm long, 3–4 mm wide, adaxially light green, abaxially appressed arachnoid, base attenuate, margin dentate to shallowly pinnately lobed, apex acute. Middle stem leaves lanceolate, sessile, 4–6 cm long, 6–13 mm wide, adaxially appressed arachnoid, abaxially densely white arachnoid in middle and apex, densely blackish arachnoid in the lower part, margin pinnately lobed or distinctly toothed, apex acute. Upper stem leaves linear, 10–25 mm long, 1–2 mm wide, usually reflexed, densely blackish arachnoid on both surfaces, margin entire or denticulate, apex acute. Capitula 15–26, densely congested on top of stem, in a hemispheric synflorescence 4–4.5 cm in diameter, exposed at flowering time. Involucre cylindroid, 4–6 mm in diameter. Phyllaries in 3 or 4 rows, membranous, apex acuminate; outer phyllaries linear, 11–13 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, blackish villous; inner phyllaries narrowly ovate-elliptic to linear, 9–10 mm long, 2–2.3 mm wide, apically blackish villous. Receptacle bristles 1–1.5 mm long. Corolla purple, 8–9 mm long, tube ca. 4 mm long, limb ca. 5.5 mm long, lobes 1.5–2 mm long. Achenes cylindroid, dark brown, 3–4 mm long, ribbed, glabrous. Pappus blackish; outer bristles 10–12, scabrid, 1.5–2 mm long; inner bristles plumose, 8–9 mm long.

Distribution and habitat:— Saussurea pseudosimpsoniana is currently known only from Nangxian County, Southern Xizang, China. It grows on alpine scree at an altitude of ca. 4830 m.

Phenology:—Flowering and fruiting from August to September.

Etymology:—The specific epithet reflects the similarity of the new species to S. simpsoniana ( Fielding & Gardner 1844: t. 26) Lipschitz (1964: 319). Chinese name: DZBǞÊT.

Discussion:— Saussurea pseudosimpsoniana belongs to S. subgen. Eriocoryne (Wallich ex Candolle 1838: 541) Hooker (1881: 376) because of its capitula in densely congested hemispheric synflorescence and surrounded by densely lanate subtending leaves. It is similar to S. simpsoniana in its polycarpic habit, leaves dentate or pinnately lobed, and capitula in a hemispheric synflorescence and exposed during flowering period, but differs by its upper stem leaves densely blackish arachnoid on both surfaces (vs. dense white or pink wool-like multicellular hairs), phyllaries linear and blackish villous (vs. triangular-ovate to linear, with dense grayish glandular hairs and non-glandular hairs), and pappus blackish (vs. yellowish white). Geographically, S. pseudosimpsoniana is currently known only from Nangxian County, Xizang, whereas S. simpsoniana is widely distributed in the Himalayas. In our molecular tree, Saussurea pseudosimpsoniana is shown to be closely related to S. laniceps Handel-Mazzetti (1937: 657) . It is similar to S. laniceps in its stems, cauline leaves and synflorescence all densely covered with wool-like multicellular hairs, and in its pappus blackish, but differs by its polycarpic habit (vs. monocarpic habit), synflorescence hemispheric and exposed at anthesis (vs. raceme-like to nearly spike-like and hidden by lanate indumentum at anthesis), and leaf margin denate to pinnately lobed (vs. dentate to entire). Saussurea pseudosimpsoniana is also very similar to S. quercifolia Smith (1913: 115) in its leaf blade lanceolate to elliptic, margin dentate to shallowly pinnately lobed, synflorescence exposed at anthesis, and in its pappus blackish, but differs by its densely blackish arachnoid on both surfaces (vs. grayish white tomentose), phyllaries blackish villous (vs. grayish villous), phyllary apex acuminate (vs. acute). A comparison of S. pseudosimpsoniana with related species is given in Table 3.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Saussurea pseudosimpsoniana. A. Habit. B. Outer pappus bristle. C. Inner pappus bristle. D. Floret (with pappus removed). E. Phyllaries (from left to right, inner to outer series). F. Style branches. G. Anthers. H. Floret. All from FLPH Tibet Expedition 12-1086 (PE). Drawn by Mr. Y.X. Zhu.