Cirsium sichuanense Z. C. Jin & Y. S. Chen 2022, sp. nov

2. Cirsium sichuanense Z. C. Jin & Y. S. Chen, sp. nov. Figs. 8, 11 Type:— China. Sichuan, Dayi county, Xiling Xue Shan, 16 July 2021, alt. 2100 m, Z. C. Jin & L. S. Xu XJ 20210014 (holotype IBSC0889758, isotypes IBSC0889759, IBSC0889760, IBSC0889761, IBSC0889762, IBSC0889763, PE). Fig. 11. Description: —Herbs 40–120 cm tall, perennial. Stems erect, ribbed, unwinged, with long multicellular hairs, branched in the upper part. Basal and lower cauline leaves with petioles to 20 cm long; leaf blade elliptic or ovate, 20–40 × 15–20 cm, pinnatipartite; segments 4–7 pairs, ± narrowly elliptic or triangular, with 1–3 unequal triangular teeth laterally spiny and with an apical spine 1–3 mm long. Cauline leaves sessile, amplexicaul, gradually smaller upward, elliptic, pinnatilobate to pinnatipartite; segments 3–5 pairs, narrowly elliptic or triangular, with 1–3 unequal triangular teeth laterally spiny and with an apical spine 1–3 mm long; middle segment largest. All leaves concolorous, green, with sparse long multicellular hairs. Capitula few, terminal on long branches, nodding. Involucre campanulate, 3–4 cm diam., glabrous or sparsely cobwebby. Phyllaries in ca. 7 rows, lacking marginal spinules, wings, and scarious appendage; outer and middle phyllaries triangular to triangular-lanceolate, 6–15 × 1.5– 3 mm, abaxially with a resinous gland, margin sparsely ciliate, apex acute and tipped with a spinule 0.5– 1 mm long, reflexed; inner and innermost phyllaries broadly linear, ca. 2.4 × 0.2–0.3 cm, apex acuminate. Florets bisexual. Corolla white, ca. 2 cm long, tube ca. 7 mm long. Achene ca. 4 mm long, many ribbed. Pappus bristles brown, ca. 1.5 cm long. Phenology: —Flowering from June to July. Etymology: —The specific epithet “ sichuanense ” is derived from Sichuan province, China; the new species is distributed in this province. Distribution and habitat: — Cirsium sichuanense is distributed in western Sichuan province, China (Fig. 10). It grows mainly on grassy slopes or in thickets at elevations of 1400–3800 m above sea level. Additional specimens examined:— CHINA. Sichuan: Emei Shan, alt. 1400 m, 13 June 1941, W. P . Fang 16948 (SZ00271197); Emei Shan, 17 July 1957, S. Y . Chen et al. 3974 (SZ00271138); Emei Shan, 3 August 1951, W. P . Fang et al. 20706 (SZ00271496, SZ00271475); Emei Shan, alt 2350 m, 14 July 1935, T. H . Tu 463 (CQNM0012138, IBSC0580834, PE00455579, PE00607945, WUK0347918); Hongya, 4 June 1994, W. K . Bao et al. 1918 (CDBI0150525, CDBI0150526); Hongya, alt. 1800 m, 19 July 1994, W. K . Bao et al. 3135 (CDBI0150523); Hongya, alt. 1800 m, 19 July 1994, W. K . Bao et al. 3136 (CDBI0150530); Hongya, Z. W . Wang A00109 (CDBI0150681, CDBI0150682); Hongya, 1 July 1939, C. W . Yao 3976 (PE00455929); Meigu, alt. 3800 m, 29 July 1976, Sichuan Veget. Exped. 13282 (CDBI0149215, CDBI0149342, CDBI0149345, PE01836809); Yuexi, alt. 2700 m, 29 August 1976, Sichuan Veget. Exped. 14046 (CDBI0149333, PE01836414). Notes: — Cirsium sichuanense, with its phyllaries lacking marginal spinules, wings and scarious appendage and its leaves lacking spinules abaxially, should belong to C. sect. Cirsium. Cirsium sichuanense is currently known only from western Sichuan, China, while C. leo is widely distributed in Beijing, Chongqing, Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Sichuan. but in Sichuan it occurs only in the northern part, geographically somewhat disjunctive from C. sichuanense (Fig. 10).
Published as part of Jin, Zi-Chao & Chen, You-Sheng, 2022, Reduction of Cirsium fangii (Asteraceae, Cardueae) to the synonymy of C. leo and description of a new species, C. sichuanense, from Sichuan, China, pp. 158-172 in Phytotaxa 576 (2) on pages 163-170, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.576.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/7461228