Saussurea yangii 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 : 207-209

26. Saussurea yangii Y. S. Chen , sp. nov. ( Fig. 26 )

Type:— CHINA. Yunnan: Shangri-la County, Xianrendong , in thickets of valley, 27°46 ʹ N, 99°39 ʹ E, 3400 m, 24 August 2010, Kham Expedition 10-2656 (holotype PE; isotype PE) .

Herbs perennial, 15–27 cm tall. Rhizome black, with numerous fibrous roots. Stems erect, apically branched, sparsely glandular pilose. Leaves green and gland-dotted, lyrately pinnate, lobes 4–8 pairs, ovate to triangular-ovate, margin with a few tooth, apex mucronate. Lower stem leaves petiolate; petiole 3–4.5 cm long, densely or sparsely glandular pilose, unwinged, base enlarged; leaf blade narrowly ovate-elliptic, 4–12.5 cm long, 2–4.5 cm wide, both surfaces green, adaxially sparsely gland-dotted and glabrous, abaxially sparsely gland-dotted, but densely gland-dotted along veins, base subcordate to truncate, apex acute. Middle and upper stem leaves with winged petiole to sessile, gradually smaller upward on stem, base auriculate and semiamplexicaul. Capitula 4–15 in a clustered corymbiform synflorescence at end of branches, shortly pedunculate or sessile. Involucre cylindroid to narrowly campanulate, 5–10 mm in diameter. Phyllaries in 5–6 rows, straw-colored, leathery, densely villous, apex obtuse to acute; outer phyllaries ovate, 3–4 mm long, 2.5–3 mm wide; middle phyllaries narrowly ovate, 6–8 mm long, 1.5–2 mm wide, apex acute to obtuse; inner phyllaries linear, 10–12 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide. Receptacle bristles 3–5 mm long. Corolla light blue, 14–15 mm long, tube 6–7 mm long, limb 6–7 mm long, lobes 3–3.5 mm long. Anthers blue, 7–8 mm long including tails; tails lacerate, ca. 1.4 mm long. Achenes cylindroid, light brown, ca. 2.5 mm long, glabrous. Pappus dirty white; outer bristles scabrid, 2–4 mm long; inner bristles plumose, 10–11 mm long.

Distribution and habitat:— Saussurea yangii is currently known only from Shangri-la County, northwestern Yunnan, China. It grows in thickets of valley at altitudes of 3300–3400 m.

Phenology:—Flowering and fruiting from August to September.

Etymology:—The specific epithet is derived from the name of its earlier collector, Prof. Q. E. Yang. Chinese name: AEĹṈLẄ.

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— CHINA. Yunnan: Shangri-la County, between Shangri-la Botanical Garden and the city, in valley, 27°53 ʹ 43 ʺ N, 99°39 ʹ 50 ʺ E, 3350 m, 18 August 2010, Q. E. Yang & H. H. Kong 3018 (IBSC).

Discussion:— Saussurea yangii belongs to S. subgen. Saussurea sect. Saussurea because of its well-developed stemd, roots not fibrously split, leaves evenly arranged along the stem, capitula numerous and in sparse corymbs, anther tails lacerate. It is similar to S. semiamplexicaulis Lipschitz (1972: 528) in the habit, leaf base auriculate and semiamplexicaul, capitula in a clustered corymbiform synflorescence, involucre cylindroid to narrowly campanulate, 5–10 mm in diameter, and pappus dirty white, but differs by its phyllaries densely villous (vs. glabrous), leaf blade lyrately pinnate (vs. margin dentate), and corolla light blue (vs. purple). Our molecular tree shows that S. pteridophylla , S. jiulongensis and S. vestitiformis Handel-Mazzetti (1937: 643) are weakly related to S. yangii .

Figures

FIGURE 26. Saussurea yangii. A. Habit. B. Style branches. C. Phyllaries (from left to right, outer to inner series). D. Floret (with pappus removed). E. Inner pappus bristle. F. Outer pappus bristle. G. Anthers. H. Leaf section (adaxial surface). I. Leaf section (abaxial surface). J. Floret.All from Kham Expedition 10-2656 (PE). Drawn by Mr. Y.X. Zhu.