无茎麻花头 wu jing ma hua tou

Serratula lyratifolia Schrenk ex Fischer & C. A. Meyer, Enum. Pl. Nov. 1: 45. 1841; Klasea rugosa (Iljin) Kitagawa; S. modestii Borissova; S. rugosa Iljin; S. tianschanica Saposhnikow & Nikitina.

Herbs, stemless or stem to 10 cm tall. Rhizome stout, oblique. Leaves petiolate; petiole 1-5 cm; leaf blade 2.5-10 × 1.5-4 cm, lyrate or pinnatipartite, subleathery, with scattered rather large multicellular hairs on adaxial surface, margin denticulate; lateral lobes 1-3(-5) pairs, broadly triangular, elliptic, or narrowly elliptic; terminal lobe ovate to orbicular, larger than others. Capitulum 1. Involucre bowl-shaped, 1.5-3 cm in diam., glabrous or subglabrous. Phyllaries in 6-8 rows, green with narrow black margin; outer phyllaries triangular, 5-10 × 2-6 mm, apex acute; middle phyllaries ovate to ovate-elliptic, 6-15 × 4-6 mm, apex acute and with a less than 2 mm spinule; inner phyllaries lanceolate, elliptic-lanceolate, or broadly linear, 1.4-2.2 × 0.2-0.5 cm, apex with a scarious appendage. Corolla purple, 2-2.6 cm. Achene grayish brown or dark brown, narrowly cuneate-ellipsoid, 5-6 mm. Pappus 1.5-2.2 cm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep. 2n = 30.

Mountain slopes; 2000-3400 m. NW Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Uzbekistan].

The taxonomic status of Klasea rugosa needs clarification. It should possibly be assigned subspecific rank. It differs from typical K. lyratifolia by the terminal leaf segment not enlarged and by long (ca. 3 mm) stigmatic branches.