太白棱子芹 tai bai leng zi qin

Hymenidium giraldii (Diels) Pimenov & Kljuykov; Pleurospermum limprichtii H. Wolff; P. meoides Diels.

Plants 20–35 cm, glabrous. Root dark brown, 0.5–1 cm across, branched. Stem tinged purple, ribbed, simple or little branched. Basal and lower leaves long-petiolate, sheaths membranous; blades triangular-ovate, 5–8 cm, 3–4-ternate-pinnate; ultimate segments linear, 1.5–3 × 0.3–0.5 mm. Leaves gradually reduced upwards, petioles becoming almost wholly sheathing. Umbel often 1, rarely 2–3, 3.5–4.5 cm across; bracts 5–7, ovate-elliptic or obovate, 15–20 × 5–8 mm, white or tinged purple, membranous; rays 9–15, 1.5–2.5 cm; bracteoles 5–7, obovate, longer than flowers, margin white membranous to first lobes, apex pinnatisect; pedicels 18–30, 2.5–3.5 mm. Calyx teeth minute, triangular. Petals obcordate, white, ca. 1 mm. Stamens longer than petals, anthers purple-black. Fruit oblong, 3.5–4 mm; ribs winged; vittae 3 in each furrow, 6 on commissure. Fl. Jul–Aug, fr. Sep–Oct.

Grassy mountain slopes; 3000–3600 m. Gansu, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan.

This taxonomic boundaries between this species and Pleurospermum hookeri var. thomsonii are unclear as the character of obsolete calyx teeth is not reliable and the degree of dissection of the bracteoles is somewhat variable. All parts of the plant are used medicinally to cure stomach ache (in Shaanxi).