鞘山芎 qiao shan xiong

Ligusticum vaginatum Sprengel, Pl. Min. Cogn. Pug. 2: 57. 1815; Conioselinum univittatum Turczaninow ex H. Karsten & Kirilow; C. tataricum Hoffmann.

Plants 60–120 cm. Root conic, branched; rhizome stout. Stem branched. Basal leaves deciduous. Cauline leaves petiolate, petioles 6–9 cm, base sheathing; blade triangular-ovate, 16–25 × 15–23 cm, 2–3-ternate-pinnate; ultimate segments long-ovate to lanceolate, 1.5–2 × 0.5–0.8 cm, pinnatifid. Umbels 5–10 cm across; bracts absent; rays 10–14, 2–4 cm; bracteoles 5–8, linear, ca. 5 mm. Petals obovate. Stylopodium short-conic. Fruit ellipsoid, slightly flattened dorsally; ribs all prominent; vittae 2–3 in each furrow, 4–6 on commissure. Fl. and fr. Jul–Sep.

Shrubby thickets, grasslands; 1300–2700 m. Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia (Siberia), Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan: C Asia, SW Asia, C Europe].

This species is used in Taiwan as a regional substitute for the traditional Chinese medicine “gao ben” (see Ligusticum sinense and L. jeholense).