Saussurea sect. Lagurostemon in Flora of China @ efloras.org

5. Saussurea sect. Lagurostemon (Cassini) Candolle, Prodr. 6: 532. 1838.

全叶风毛菊组 quan ye feng mao ju zu

Lagurostemon Cassini in Cuvier, Dict. Sci. Nat. 53: 466. 1828.

Herbs, perennial, sometimes densely caespitose, usually with developed stems, sometimes substemless. Stem usually simple, erect, rarely apically branched. Leaf blade often narrowly linear and grasslike or narrowly ovate-elliptic, narrowly elliptic, narrowly oblong, or linear, almost always undivided. Capitula (1-)1.5-3 cm in diam., usually solitary but sometimes ± numerous and in a racemiform or corymbiform synflorescence. Receptacle with apiculate papillae or with subulate bristles. Corolla glabrous or gland-dotted. Anther tails usually lanate. Achene glabrous or sometimes densely sericeous, apically with a short and entire or denticulate crown. Pappus always in 2 rows; outer bristles usually scabrid.

About 24 species: C, E, and S Asia, C Europe; 21 species (14 endemic) in China.

Saussurea sect. Pycnocephala, the name used by Lipschitz (Rod Saussurea, 143. 1979) and typified with S. baicalensis, is not the earliest legitimate name for this taxon at sectional rank. Lipschitz included the type of S. sect. Lagurostemon, S. pygmaea (Jacquin) Sprengel (not present in China), in his S. sect. Pycnocephala.

1 Leaf blade ovate, elliptic, narrowly ovate-elliptic, or oblong, 0.8-7 cm wide, margin sinuate-dentate or denticulate; capitula usually several (2)

+ Leaf blade narrowly linear or narrowly elliptic, 0.1-1 cm wide, margin entire or inconspicuously dentate; capitula solitary or rarely 2 (9)

2 (1) Capitula in a racemiform or lax corymbiform synflorescence; leaf blade usually more than 2 cm wide (3)

+ Capitula in a corymbiform synflorescence; leaf blade 0.8-2 cm wide (4)

3 (2) Stem densely leafy; leaf blade narrowly ovate-elliptic, 1-3 cm wide; capitula in a dense racemiform synflorescence, sessile or shortly pedunculate; receptacle with short papillae or few short bristles to 3 mm. 155 S. baicalensis

+ Stem with distant leaves; leaf blade ovate to elliptic, 2-7 cm wide; capitula in a lax corymbiform or racemiform synflorescence, pedunculate; receptacle with dense bristles 5-7 mm. 161 S. sordida

4 (2) Leaf blade abaxially grayish green and densely sericeous-tomentose, adaxially green. 158 S. souliei

+ Leaf blade concolorous, green, abaxially not sericeous-tomentose (5)

5 (4) Stem not winged (6)

+ Stem winged (7)

6 (5) Plants 10-50 cm tall; stem ca. 0.5 cm in diam.; involucre campanulate, less than 2 cm in diam. 154 S. krylovii

+ Plants 60-70 cm tall; stem 1-1.5 cm in diam.; involucre hemispheric-campanulate, more than 2 cm in diam. 160 S. megacephala

7 (5) Leaf blade retrorsely denticulate, apex obtuse to acute; lower stem leaves petiolate. 156 S. sylvatica

+ Leaf blade coarsely sinuate-dentate, apex acuminate; lower stem leaves sessile (8)

8 (7) Capitula pedunculate; involucre 2-3.5 cm in diam.; middle stem leaves ovate to narrowly ovate. 157 S. sobarocephala

+ Capitula subsessile; involucre 1.5-2 cm in diam.; middle stem leaves narrowly ovate-triangular to linear. 159 S. semifasciata

9 (1) Capitula obconic; uppermost leaves and phyllaries dark purple. 142 S. tibetica

+ Capitula campanulate; uppermost leaves green and phyllaries straw-colored, brown, or green, sometimes purplish tinged (10)

10 (9) Phyllaries villous, with brown and white hairs (11)

+ Phyllaries white lanate, villous, or glabrous, without brown hairs (13)

11 (10) Achene glabrous; plants 7-45 cm tall. 148 S. brunneopilosa

+ Achene densely white villous; plants 2-6 cm tall (12)

12 (11) Leaves abaxially white, densely villous, adaxially green, sparsely pilose. 149 S. pubescens

+ Leaves concolorous, grayish white, densely sericeous. 150 S. sericea

13 (10) Leaf blade with stalked glandular hairs. 141 S. schlagintweitii

+ Leaf blade without stalked glandular hairs (14)

14 (13) Stem base densely covered with fibrously lacerate remains of old leaves. 144 S. romuleifolia

+ Stem base not densely covered with fibrously lacerate remains of old leaves (15)

15 (14) Leaf blade concolorous, grayish white, lanate, sericeous, or pubescent (16)

+ Leaf blade abaxially subglabrous, lanate, or tomentose, adaxially green, glabrous or sparsely arachnoid and glabrescent (17)

16 (15) Outer phyllaries reflexed; leaf apex obtuse. 147 S. loriformis

+ Outer phyllaries erect and appressed; leaf apex acuminate. 152 S. leucophylla

17 (15) Stem densely and fluffily lanate; base of basal and lower stem leaves widened into a membranous sheath. 145 S. graminifolia

+ Stem glabrous, appressed tomentose, or pilose; base of basal and lower stem leaves not widened into a membranous sheath (18)

18 (17) Achene densely gland-dotted; corolla white or pink; leaf blade sometimes pinnately lobed. 151 S. cinerea

+ Achene glabrous; corolla purple; leaf blade always undivided (19)

19 (18) Leaf blade narrowly elliptic, 3-5 mm wide; involucre 1-1.2 cm in diam. 143 S. rockii

+ Leaf blade narrowly linear, 1-3 mm wide; involucre 1.5-2.5 cm in diam (20)

20 (19) Leaf blade abaxially grayish white and lanate tomentose. 146 S. graminea

+ Leaf blade abaxially green, glabrous or glabrescent. 153 S. schanginiana

List of lower taxa