尼泊尔雪兔子 ni bo er xue tu zi

Herbs 7-9[-15] cm tall, perennial. Stem solitary, ca. 5 mm in diam., erect, simple, hidden by reflexed leaves. Lower and middle stem leaves petiolate; leaf blade spatulate, obovate, or elliptic, 8-15 × 7-8 mm, both surfaces yellowish green and densely white and yellowish lanate, base attenuate, margin pinnately lobed, apex obtuse; lobes 2 or 3 pairs, linear, 1-4 × ca. 1 mm. Uppermost stem leaves sessile, linear, 15-20 × 1-3 mm, margin sparsely dentate or entire. Capitula numerous, in a hemispheric synflorescence 3-5 cm in diam., sessile. Involucre cylindric, 5-6 mm in diam. Phyllaries in 3 or 4 rows, hyaline, apically purplish red, glabrous but apically ciliate, apex acute; outer phyllaries narrowly spatulate-linear, 10-11 × ca. 3 mm; middle and inner phyllaries linear, 13-14 × 1-2 mm. Receptacle bristles 1.5-2.5 mm. Corolla dark purple, densely papillose, 1.1-1.3 cm, tube 6-7 mm, limb 5-6 mm, lobes 1.5-2 mm. Achene brown, narrowly fusiform, 7-8 mm, densely papillose on apical rim. Pappus light brown; outer bristles 5-8 mm; inner bristles 1.2-1.3 cm. Fl. and fr. Aug-Sep.

Alpine scree slopes; ca. 4900[-5200] m. SC Xizang (Lhasa) [W Nepal].

Saussurea namikawae from Nepal is very close to S. medusa, from which it is said to differ mainly by dense papillae on the corolla limb and on the apical rim of the achene; however, this kind of papillae is sometimes present in S. medusa as well. A specimen from C Xizang (Ludlow & Sherriff 9066) additionally differs from S. medusa by its much narrower leaves, which approach those of S. tridactyla in shape and color. This plant is therefore tentatively included here as S. namikawae.