污花风毛菊 wu hua feng mao ju

Saussurea pycnocephala Ledebour var. sordida (Karelin & Kirilov) Herder; S. russowii C. Winkler; S. sordida var. oligocephala C. Winkler ex Lipschitz; S. tuoliensis K. M. Shen.

Herbs 40-100 cm tall, perennial. Stem solitary, erect, simple or apically branched, covered at base with fibrous remains of leaf sheaths. Lower stem leaves petiolate; petiole to 10 cm, winged; leaf blade ovate to narrowly ovate-elliptic, 15-40 × 2-7 cm, both surfaces green, abaxially pilose but glabrescent, adaxially scabrid, margin serrulate-dentate, apex acuminate. Middle and upper stem leaves sessile, elliptic to narrowly ovate-elliptic, gradually smaller upward on stem. Capitula solitary to numerous, in a lax corymbiform or racemiform synflorescence, pedunculate. Involucre broadly campanulate, 2-2.5 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 4 or 5 rows, blackish brown or straw-colored with a dark margin, triangular-ovate to narrowly triangular-ovate, pilose but later glabrescent, apex acuminate; outer phyllaries 9-12 × 3-4 mm; middle phyllaries narrowly elliptic, 13-15 × 2-3 mm; inner phyllaries 15-18 × 1.5-2 mm. Corolla purple, 1.2-1.5 cm, tube 5-8 mm, limb 5-9 mm, lobes 2-4 mm. Achene brown with dark spots, cylindric, 5-6 mm, obtusely 4- or 5-angled, glabrous, apex with a short crown. Pappus straw-colored; outer bristles 1-5 mm; inner bristles 1-1.5 cm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep.

Meadows, gravelly mountain slopes; 2000-2800 m. C and NW Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan].

According to Lipschitz (Fl. URSS 27: 402. 1962), Saussurea sordida is a widespread and very variable taxon, including larger plants from China that had been described as S. russowii. Following this wide concept, we also include S. tuoliensis here, which perfectly matches S. russowii.