膜鞘风毛菊 mo qiao feng mao ju

Saussurea tunicata Handel-Mazzetti.

Herbs (2-)7-23 cm tall, perennial, caespitose, forming large clumps. Caudex stout, many branched near ground level, densely covered by hard tunic of pale brown persistent remains of petioles. Stems numerous, 2-4 mm in diam., erect, simple. Rosette and lower stem leaves shortly petiolate; leaf blade narrowly ovate-elliptic to linear, (1.5-)4-7 × 0.2-0.6 cm, both surfaces grayish green and ± densely villous to sericeous, margin revolute and subentire or mucronulate, apex acute. Middle and upper stem leaves sessile, both surfaces grayish green to purplish red. Uppermost stem leaves ± aggregated, narrowly ovate, ovate-elliptic, or ovate-triangular, 1.3-3 × 0.6-1 cm, membranous, covering basal part of capitulum, both surfaces purplish red or pale purple, apex acuminate. Capitulum solitary. Involucre obconic to campanulate, 1.5-2.5 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 4-6 rows, dark purple to blackish, densely sericeous, apex acuminate to caudate; outer phyllaries narrowly ovate-elliptic, 5-8 × 2-4 mm; middle phyllaries narrowly ovate-elliptic, 8-10 × 1.5-2 mm; inner phyllaries linear, 12-14 × 1-2 mm. Corolla purplish red, 1.1-1.6 cm, tube 4.5-7.5 mm, limb 5.5-6.5 mm, lobes 3.5-4.5 mm. Achene cylindric, 3.5-4 mm, glabrous. Pappus straw-colored; outer bristles 2-3 mm; inner bristles 0.9-1.1 cm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Aug.

● Alpine scree slopes and grasslands; 4000-5300 m. Qinghai, NW Sichuan, Xizang.

Examination of rediscovered type material of Saussurea pilinophylla at WRSL and WU has shown that these plants from NW Sichuan are identical with those of S. tunicata from Xizang and Qinghai. They only differ in taller growing stems. There is a pronounced tendency toward smaller, almost stemless plants in higher and drier regions of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.