短茎古当归 duan jing gu dang gui

Angelocarpa brevicaulis Ruprecht in Osten-Sacken & Ruprecht, Sert. Tianschan. 48. 1869; Angelica brevicaulis (Ruprecht) B. Fedtschenko; Coelopleurum brevicaule (Ruprecht) Drude.

Plants 40–100 cm. Root brown, cylindric, stout, with annular rings, aromatic. Stem 2–3 cm thick, sometimes shortened, thinly ribbed. Basal and lower petioles 9–20 cm, sheaths oblong or saccate, 3–6 cm wide, hispidulous along nerves; blade broad-ovate, 13–17 × 10–17 cm, 2–3-pinnate; leaflets short-petiolulate, ovate to oblong, 3–7 × 1.5–3 cm, base attenuate, margin obtusely or acutely toothed, pubescent adaxially, densely hispidulous abaxially. Umbels 6–15 cm across; peduncles, rays and pedicels hispidulous; bracts 1–2, narrow-lanceolate, margin ciliate; rays 20–40, 4–7 cm; bracteoles many, linear-lanceolate, longer than pedicels, hispidulous; umbellules 24–25-flowered. Petals oblong. Fruit 6–8 × 3–5 mm; dorsal ribs thick-winged, lateral ribs broadly winged, but narrower than the body; vittae 3–4 in each furrow, 6–7 on commissure. Fl. Jul–Aug, fr. Aug–Sep. n = 11*.

Meadows, damp stream banks; 2500–3400 m. W Xinjiang [Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan].

This species has reputed medicinal value and is cultivated in Xin- jiang, where the roots are used as a regional substitute for the traditional Chinese medicine “du huo” (see Angelica biserrata).