天山风毛菊 tian shan feng mao ju

Saussurea takhtadganii Lipschitz.

Herbs 10-40(-60) cm tall, perennial. Caudex fibrous, branched, with several sterile and flowering leaf rosettes. Stems solitary or several, erect, simple or branched, slightly winged. Lower stem leaves petiolate; petiole 2-3(-5) cm; leaf blade narrowly ovate, ovate-oblong, or narrowly ovate-elliptic, 5-10 × (0.4-)1.5-4.5 cm, undivided, pinnately cleft, or pinnately lobed, abaxially grayish white and arachnoid tomentose, adaxially green, scabrous, and spinulose-strigose, margin sinuate or dentate. Middle and upper stem leaves sessile, gradually smaller upward on stem, base decurrent. Capitula in a densely congested corymbiform synflorescence, erect, shortly pedunculate, with 10-13 florets. Involucre narrowly cylindric, 4-9 mm in diam. Phyllaries in 4 or 5 rows, apically reddish, arachnoid, glabrescent, with a conspicuous midvein, apex acuminate and with a straight or weakly curved cusp; outer phyllaries ovate; inner phyllaries narrowly ovate-oblong. Receptacle bristles subulate, to 8 mm. Corolla rose-pink, 1.4-1.5 cm, sometimes sparsely glandular, tube 7-8 mm, limb 7-8 mm. Achene ca. 3 mm, glabrous, apex with a short crown. Pappus white or basally pale brown; outer bristles 2-4 mm; inner bristles 1.1-1.2 cm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Oct.

Forests, scree slopes, alpine and subalpine meadows; 1800-3800 m. Xinjiang (Tian Shan) [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan].

Saussurea larionowii may be conspecific with the insufficiently known S. alberti, which has been described from a cultivated plant. Further studies in the field are needed to clarify the taxonomic status of these species.