2. Saussurea sect. Jacea Lipschitz, Bot. Mater. Gerb. Bot. Inst. Komarova Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R. 16: 441. 1954.
栗缘风毛菊组 li yuan feng mao ju zu
Herbs, perennial. Stem solitary, branched, densely leafy. Capitula numerous or few, solitary at stem and branch ends, supported by uppermost stem leaves. Phyllaries straw-colored, leathery, with brown or black membranous margin. Receptacle paleate; paleae 1-2 cm, approximately as long as inner phyllaries. Anther tails short, undivided. Achene ribbed, glabrous. Pappus bristles in 1 row, plumose, persistent.
Three species: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, NE and NW India, Kashmir, N Myanmar, Nepal, N Pakistan, Tajikistan; one species in China.
The species of Saussurea sect. Jacea, including its only Chinese representative, almost certainly do not belong in Saussurea. In a cladogram from a recent molecular analysis (Y. J. Wang et al., Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 97: 893-903. 2009), S. fastuosa (= S. forrestii) was positioned far from the Saussurea clade. The affinities of S. fastuosa could not be further elucidated, however, and it is treated here under Saussurea.
