矮小苓菊 ai xiao ling ju

Jurinea pamirica C. Shih.

Herbs 2-10 cm tall, perennial, stemless or shortly stemmed. Caudex simple or branched, covered with remains of petioles. Rosette leaves petiolate; petiole 1.5-3 cm, base adaxially lanate; leaf blade elliptic to narrowly obovate, 2.5-4 × 0.5-1 cm, lyrately pinnately lobed to divided or pinnately divided, abaxially grayish white and densely tomentose, adaxially green, sparsely arachnoid, and gland-dotted but glabrescent; lateral lobes 2-4 pairs, narrowly ovate, elliptic, or obliquely triangular, margin revolute and entire or sinuately dentate, apex obtuse to rounded; terminal lobe usually larger than lateral ones. Capitulum solitary, in center of leaf rosette or terminal on stem. Involucre bowl-shaped, 1.5-2.5 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 3-5 rows, sparsely arachnoid tomentose; outer and middle phyllaries narrowly triangular-ovate, 5-15 × 1-3 mm, apex spiniform-acuminate and reflexed; inner phyllaries narrowly triangular-ovate to linear, 10-14 × 1-3 mm, apex acuminate and not reflexed. Corolla purplish red, 1.4-2 cm, tube 6-8.5 mm, limb 8-10 mm, lobes 3.5-5 mm. Achene brown, narrowly ellipsoid, 4-7 mm, glabrous, apically spinulose-tuberculate. Pappus bristles white, scabrid to barbellate, 1.2-1.6 cm, with 3 or 4 of inner ones much longer than others, basally connate into a ring, caducous. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Aug-Sep.

Subalpine and alpine scree slopes; 2800-3100 m. W Xinjiang (Wuqia) [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan].

Jurinea pamirica does not differ from J. algida, except for the stronger branched caudex, which leads to a more densely caespitose or even pulvinate habit. Leaf division is quite variable in J. algida so that this character cannot be used to separate J. pamirica from it.