截叶风毛菊 jie ye feng mao ju

Herbs to 1 m tall, perennial. Stem solitary, erect, apically branched, not winged, glabrous. Basal and lower stem leaves usually withered at anthesis. Middle stem leaves shortly petiolate; leaf blade ovate, elliptic, or oblong, 6-10 × 2-3.5 cm, surfaces dark green and ± concolorous, abaxially puberulent on veins, adaxially glabrous, base truncate to cuneate, margin sinuate-denticulate, apex caudate-acuminate. Upper stem leaves sessile, ovate-elliptic to narrowly ovate-elliptic, smaller. Capitula numerous, in a clustered corymbiform synflorescence at end of stem and branches, shortly pedunculate. Involucre narrowly campanulate, 4-6 mm in diam. Phyllaries in ca. 5 rows, brown, glabrous; outer phyllaries ovate, 2-3 × 1-2 mm, apex acuminate; middle phyllaries ovate-elliptic, 3-6 × 1.5-2 mm, apex subacute; inner phyllaries linear, 7-10 × 1-1.5 mm, apex subacute. Corolla purple, 8-10 mm, tube 3.5-5 mm, limb 4.5-5 mm, lobes ca. 3 mm. Achene brown, cylindric, ca. 4 mm, glabrous. Pappus pale reddish brown; outer bristles 0.2-3 mm; inner bristles 7-8 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug-Oct.

● Montane grasslands; ca. 3200 m. NE Yunnan (Qiaojia).

Apparently, Saussurea merinoi is only known from the type specimens, which lack the basal and underground parts of the plants. This species is probably close to S. leclerei.