Saussurea iodostegia var. ferruginipes J. R. Drummond ex Handel-Mazzetti; S. iodostegia var. glandulifera X. Y. Wu.

Herbs (5-)10-80 cm tall, perennial. Caudex simple or few branched. Stems solitary or 2-4, 1.5-7 mm in diam., erect, simple. Rosette and lower stem leaves petiolate; leaf blade narrowly ovate-elliptic to linear, 8-45 × 0.6-5 cm, both surfaces green, sometimes spotted, abaxially glabrescent, adaxially sparsely villous, margin sinuate-dentate, apex acute. Middle and upper stem leaves sessile, ovate and boat-shaped, 3-8 × 0.6-3 cm, both surfaces green to purple, base semiamplexicaul, margin dentate to subentire, apex acuminate. Uppermost stem leaves ovate to elliptic and boat-shaped, 2.5-6.5 × 0.5-2.3 cm, membranous, half-enclosing synflorescence, both surfaces purple, margin subentire. Capitula (1 or)2-10, in a corymbiform synflorescence or rarely solitary, pedunculate. Involucre cylindric to obconic, 0.9-1.7 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 3 or 4 rows, villous, apex obtuse; outer phyllaries elliptic to suborbicular, 4.5-7.5 × 3-4.5 mm; middle phyllaries narrowly elliptic, 6-12 × 2-3 mm; inner phyllaries linear, 12-15 × 1.5-2.5 mm. Receptacle bristles 2.5-6(-10) mm. Corolla purple, 1.3-1.4 cm, tube 6-7 mm, limb 6.5-7.5 mm, lobes 4.2-5 mm. Achene dark brown, obovoid, 4.5-5.5 mm. Pappus pale brown; outer bristles 1-4 mm; inner bristles 1-1.1 cm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

The proximal part of multicellular flagellate hairs on leaves and peduncles is often remaining when the distal, long, hairlike part of the trichome is shed. These remaining basal parts are sometimes colored and are easily mistaken for glandular hairs. The two varieties of Saussurea iodostegia, which have been distinguished based on this misleading character, both from the same locality, are not recognized here.

● Grasslands, meadows, forests on mountain slopes; 1300-3500 m. Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi.