Jurinea pamirica C. Shih.

Herbs 2-10 cm tall, perennial, stemless or shortly stemmed. Caudex simple or branched, covered with remains of petioles. Rosette leaves petiolate; petiole 1.5-3 cm, base adaxially lanate; leaf blade elliptic to narrowly obovate, 2.5-4 × 0.5-1 cm, lyrately pinnately lobed to divided or pinnately divided, abaxially grayish white and densely tomentose, adaxially green, sparsely arachnoid, and gland-dotted but glabrescent; lateral lobes 2-4 pairs, narrowly ovate, elliptic, or obliquely triangular, margin revolute and entire or sinuately dentate, apex obtuse to rounded; terminal lobe usually larger than lateral ones. Capitulum solitary, in center of leaf rosette or terminal on stem. Involucre bowl-shaped, 1.5-2.5 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 3-5 rows, sparsely arachnoid tomentose; outer and middle phyllaries narrowly triangular-ovate, 5-15 × 1-3 mm, apex spiniform-acuminate and reflexed; inner phyllaries narrowly triangular-ovate to linear, 10-14 × 1-3 mm, apex acuminate and not reflexed. Corolla purplish red, 1.4-2 cm, tube 6-8.5 mm, limb 8-10 mm, lobes 3.5-5 mm. Achene brown, narrowly ellipsoid, 4-7 mm, glabrous, apically spinulose-tuberculate. Pappus bristles white, scabrid to barbellate, 1.2-1.6 cm, with 3 or 4 of inner ones much longer than others, basally connate into a ring, caducous. Fl. Jul-Sep, fr. Aug-Sep.

Jurinea pamirica does not differ from J. algida, except for the stronger branched caudex, which leads to a more densely caespitose or even pulvinate habit. Leaf division is quite variable in J. algida so that this character cannot be used to separate J. pamirica from it.

Subalpine and alpine scree slopes; 2800-3100 m. W Xinjiang (Wuqia) [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan].