86. Arcuatopterus M. L. Sheh & R. H. Shan, Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin. 6(4): 11. 1986.
弓翅芹属 gong chi qin shu
She Menglan (佘孟兰 Sheh Meng-lan); Mark F. Watson
Herbs, perennial, glabrous throughout. Stem solitary, erect or scrambling, hollow. Basal leaves long-petiolate, 2–3-pinnatisect, petiole sheathing; ultimate segments ovate or obovate. Inflorescence loose compound umbels, peduncles terminal and axillary, many-branched, lateral umbels usually exceeding central; bracts and bracteoles absent, or occasionally bracts 1, deciduous; rays usually slender, unequal. Calyx teeth minute, triangular. Petals white, purplish or dull cream, obovate, apex broadly inflexed, costa red-brown, conspicuous, base clawed. Stylopodium conic or low-conic, margin slightly undulate. Fruit oblong or ellipsoid, strongly dorsally compressed; dorsal ribs obscure or very slightly raised, lateral ribs broadly winged, wings thin to corky, margin often incurved; vittae 1 in each furrow, 2 on commissure. Seed face plane. Carpophore 2-cleft.
Three to five species: E Himalayas and SW China: three species (two endemic) in China.
Generic relationships between Angelica, Arcuatopterus, Ferula, Peucedanum sensu lato, etc. continue to be explored, with recent results indicating that several Himalayan taxa should now be included within Arcuatopterus, a genus once thought to be endemic to SW China.
