Artemisia mongolorum Krascheninnikov (1936: 350)

Jin, Guang-Zhao, Sheludyakova, Mariya, Abduraimov, Ozodbek, Feng, Ying & Ge, Xue-Jun, 2025, A Taxonomic Revision of Artemisia Subgenus Seriphidium (Asteraceae-Anthemideae) in China, Phytotaxa 686 (1), pp. 1-103 : 29-31

17. Artemisia mongolorum Krascheninnikov (1936: 350) ≡ Seriphidium mongolorum (Krasch.) Ling & Y.R. Ling in Ling (1988: 115). Type:— CHINA. Qinghai: Qaidam basin, 15 June 1879, N. Przewalsky 378 [lectotype designated here: LE01018145!; isolectotype: PE! (no barcode)].

Perennial herbs, 30–45 cm tall. Stems few or numerous, erect or lower slightly curved upward at the base, branching from the lower part, branches 8–15 cm long, spreading. Lower stem leaves long-elliptic or oblong-ovate, 2–3-pinnatisect, 3–5 cm long, 2–3 cm wide, petiole 1.5–3.5 cm long, with 3–6 segments per side, segments further pinnatisect, lobules linear or linear-lanceolate, 2–5 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, with acuminate apices. Middle stem leaves 2-pinnatisect, 2– 3.5 cm long, 1–1.5 cm wide, subsessile, with pinnatifid pseudostipules. Upper stem leaves pinnatisect, with lanceolate lobules. The grayish-green tomentum on the stems and branches partially sheds at maturity, while the tomentum on all leaves persists and the leaves have a slightly soft texture. Capitula ellipsoid or oblong, 2.5–4 mm long, 2–2.5 mm in diameter. Synflorescence a somewhat broad elongated panicle. Phyllaries in 4–5 series, outer phyllaries short, ovate, middle and inner phyllaries elliptic or oblong-ovate, outer and middle phyllaries abaxially grayish-white pilose, glabrescent, with green midribs, margins membranous, inner phyllaries semi-membranous, glabrous. Bisexual florets 3–6, corolla yellow or red. Anthers linear, apex appendages lanceolate, with a mucronate base. Style short, bifurcate at the apex during anthesis, tip truncate, ciliate. Achenes with inconspicuous fine longitudinal lines, obovoid. Figure 21 .

Distribution and habitat:—This species is distributed in Gansu and Qinghai, China ( Figure 22 ). Some authors reported that this species is also distributed in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang ( Ling 1991b, Fu 1993, Ling et al. 2011, Wei 2012), but no definitive specimens were examined in this study. It grows in desert or semidesert steppes, rocky slopes and gobi desert at elevations of 1100–3000 m.

Phenology:—Flowering and fruiting from August to October.

Taxonomic notes:—In the protologue of Artemisia mongolorum, Krascheninnikov (1936) cited the gathering N. Przewalsky s.n. as the type, without specifying the herbarium. We have traced two sheets of this gathering, one at LE and one at PE. Both sheets have the information given in the protologue and match the original description. According to Arts. 7.10, 7.11, 9.12 and 9.17 of the ICN ( Turland et al. 2018), sheet LE01018145 has been designated as the lectotype, and the other sheet as the isolectotype.

Artemisia mongolorum is similar to A. gobica in habit but can be easily distinguished by its pale-white (vs. grayish-white) tomentose stems, slightly spreading lower branches (vs. obliquely upward middle branches), and lobules with acuminate apices (vs. obtuse). It also resembles A. assurgens in habit, branch position, length, and degree of separation but differs by its wider-spaced (vs. slightly compact) segments, lobules with acuminate apices (vs. obtuse), and thinner, softer (vs. slightly thick and rigid) leaves.

Specimens examined:— China. Gansu: Subei, Mazongshan Town , roadside of national highway 215, 1678 m, 19 September 2021, L. Wang & C.S. Li WL4284 ( IBSC) ; Qinghai: Golmud, 37 km east of Golmud , 2700 m, 20 September 1974, Xizang exped. 4410 ( IBSC, HNWP) ; Golmud, gobi, 9 km west of Golmud , 3000 m, 13 June 1959, Gansu-Qinghai Exped. 141 ( PE) .

Figures

FIGURE 21. Artemisia mongolorum (photographed by Long Wang). A. habit; B. capitula; C. florets; D. stem leaves (from left to right: lower and middle leaf).

FIGURE 22. Distribution map of Artemisia mongolorum in China.