尖叶藁本 jian ye gao ben

Ligusticopsis acuminata (Franchet) Leute.

Plants 1–2 m, stout, glabrous. Rootstock thick. Stems 1–2, purplish tinged, hollow, branching. Lower petioles 5–10 cm; blade triangular-ovate, ternate-3-pinnate, pinnae 4–6 pairs, crowded, terminal pinna caudate; ultimate segments subovate, 5–15 × 5–10 mm, apex acuminate or caudate. Upper leaves reduced, sessile, 1-pinnate. Terminal umbels ca. 4 cm across, lateral umbels smaller; peduncles 5–15 cm; bracts 5–6, linear, caducous; rays (7–)12–23, subequal, 2–3 cm; bracteoles 5–10, linear. Calyx teeth obsolete. Petals white, obovate, base cuneate. Styles reflexed. Fruit oblong-ovoid, ca. 3 × 2 mm; dorsal and intermediate ribs narrowly winged, lateral ribs more broadly winged; vittae 2–3(–4) in each furrow, 6–8 on commissure. Seed face plane or slightly concave. Fl. Jul–Aug, fr. Sep–Oct. 2n = 22*.

Forests, forest margins, alpine scrub and meadows; 1500–4000 m. Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan.

This species is used in W Sichuan as a regional substitute, known as “xin jiang gao ben,” for the traditional Chinese medicine “gao ben” (see Ligusticum sinense and L. jeholense).