高山离子芥 gao shan li zi jie

Chorispora exscapa Bunge ex Ledebour; C. tianschanica Z. X. An.

Herbs perennial, scapose, with well-developed branched caudex; multicellular glandular trichomes sometimes mixed with simple ones to 2 mm. Basal leaves rosulate, persistent; petiole (1-)1.5-3(-4) cm, ciliate, expanded at base; leaf blade oblanceolate or oblong, (0.8-)1.2-4(-5) cm × 3-10(-15) mm, sparsely to densely glandular, pilose or glabrous, base cuneate or attenuate, margin pinnatipartite or pinnatisect, with up to 12, oblong or ovate lobes, or sinuate-dentate, dentate, repand, or entire, apex obtuse. Cauline leaves absent. Flowers solitary, arising from rosette. Fruiting pedicels (1-)1.5-3(-4) cm, densely glandular or subglabrous, sometimes also pilose. Sepals purplish, linear-oblong, (6-)7-9(-10) × 1-1.5 mm. Petals purple, broadly obovate or obcordate, (1.5-)1.7-2(-2.3) cm × 6-8 mm, emarginate or subrounded at apex; claw 0.9-1.2 cm. Filaments 6-10 mm; anthers narrowly oblong, 1.5-2.5 mm. Fruit linear-cylindric, 2-3 cm × 1.5-2 mm, corky, strongly torulose, with 8-12 constrictions on each side, glabrescent; style 4-7 mm. Seeds brown, oblong, 1.2-1.5 × 0.7-1 mm. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Jul-Sep.

Grasslands, open slopes; (2200-)3000-4200 m. Xinjiang [Afghanistan, India, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan].

Chorispora tianschanica was said to differ from C. bungeana in being completely glandular and with serrate leaf margins and rounded petal apices. However, these alleged differences do not hold, and C. bungeana is highly variable throughout most of its range, especially in leaf morphology and the density of glandular papillae.