准噶尔矢车菊 zhun ga er shi che ju

Basionym: Centaurea dschungarica C. Shih, Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 4(2): 65. 1984.

Herbs 40-80 cm tall. Stem usually solitary, erect, apically few branched or unbranched. Leaves green. Basal leaves petiolate; petiole 2.5-6 cm, lanate at base; leaf blade oblanceolate, elliptic, or obovate in outline, 10-15 × 6-7 cm, bipinnatisect or pinnate and lateral segments irregularly pinnatipartite to pinnatisect; primary segments ca. 10 pairs, lanceolate to obliquely lanceolate, decreasing in size toward apex; ultimate segment narrowly elliptic. Stem leaves sessile or shortly petiolate, similar in shape and same in division as basal leaves. Capitula few to several, rarely 1. Involucre ovoid to bowl-shaped, 1.2-2.5 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 5 or 6 rows; middle phyllaries elliptic to ovate-elliptic, 7-12 × ca. 6 mm, apical appendage white hyaline to scarious, 2-5 mm, and narrowly decurrent on phyllary; inner phyllaries elliptic-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 15-16 × 3-6 mm, gradually transitioning into a scarious white or pale brown appendage. Achene 6-7 mm. Outer pappus elements to 6 mm; inner pappus elements very short. Fl. and fr. Jul-Aug.

Mountain slopes; 1600-2000 m. Xinjiang (Tian Shan) [Kyrgyzstan].

Centaurea ruthenica Lamarck var. bipinnatifida Trautvetter, described from Kazakhstan, is possibly a synonym of Rhaponticoides dschungarica.