Artemisia minchunensis (Y.R. Ling) L. Wang & G.Z. Jin, 2025

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 : 28-29

16. Artemisia minchunensis (Y.R. Ling) L. Wang & G.Z. Jin , comb. nov. ≡ Seriphidium minchunense Y.R. Ling in Bull. Bot. Res. Harbin 5(3): 159 (1985). Type:— CHINA. Gansu: Minqin, in Xiqu commune, ca. 1320 m, 23 October 1958, Qinghai-Gansu expedition of China Academy of Sciences 1455 (holotype: PE00457585 !; isotype: WUK0100051!). Paratype:— CHINA. Gansu: Minqin , in 38 km south of Minqin , ca. 1380 m, 27 September 1964, Gansu Stock-rasing Department He Xi expedition 2012 ( IBSC0617662 !).

Perennial herbs, 30–50 cm tall. Stems few or numerous, erect or lower slightly curved upward at the base, branching from the lower part, branches 10–20 cm long, spreading. Lower stem leaves ovate, 2–3-pinnatisect, 2–4 cm long, 1–1.5 cm wide, petiole 1–2.5 cm long, with 3–6 segments per side, segments further pinnatisect, lobules obovate, 2–5 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, with rounded apices. Middle stem leaves 2-pinnatisect, 1–2 cm long, 0.5–1 cm wide, with pinnatifid pseudostipules. Upper stem leaves pinnatisect or 3-lobed. The grayish-white tomentum on the stems and branches partially sheds at maturity, the tomentum on all leaves persists, while the lower and middle stem leaves usually wither. Capitula oblong or oblong-campanulate, 2.5–4 mm long, 2–2.5 mm in diameter. Synflorescence a lax, broad conical panicle. Phyllaries in 5–6 series, outer phyllaries small, ovate, margins membranous, middle and inner phyllaries oblong-ovate, margins broadly membranous or semi-membranous. Bisexual florets 5–8, corolla yellow or red. Anthers linear, apex appendages lanceolate, with a rounded base. Style short, with a 2-lobed apex. Achenes with inconspicuous fine longitudinal lines, obovoid or oblong-ovoid. Figure 19 .

Distribution and habitat:—This species is distributed in Gansu, China ( Figure 20 ). Some authors reported that this species is also distributed in Xinjiang ( Ling 1991 b, Wei 1999, Ling et al. 2011), but no definitive specimens were examined in this study. It grows in rocky terraces at elevations of 1300–1400 m.

Phenology:—Flowering and fruiting from August to October.

Taxonomic notes:— Ling (1982) supported the recognition of Seriphidium as a separate genus and later described the species S. minchunense Y.R. Ling (1985b: 159) . However, Seriphidium has been treated as a subgenus within Artemisia based on the recent multidisciplinary evidence ( Zhang 2010, Malik et al. 2017, Lu et al. 2022, Jin et al. 2023, Jiao et al. 2023). Consequently, we transferred the species from Seriphidium to Artemisia and proposed a new combination.

Artemisia minchunensis is easily distinguished from other species in A. subg. Seriphidium by its 10–20 cm long spreading branches on the lower part of the stem and lobes with rounded tips.

Specimens examined:— China. Gansu: Minqin, without precise location, 1270 m, 4 October 1933, Y.Y. Pai 229 ( PE); Minqin, Xiqu Town , next to the diversion canal, 1356 m, 19 October 2020, J.Y. Zheng & C. Chen jgz-103 ( XJBI) .

Figures

FIGURE 19. Artemisia minchunensis (photographed by Long Wang). A. habit; B. stem leaves (from left to right: lower, middle and upper leaf); C. stem indumentum; D. florets; E. capitula.

FIGURE 20. Distribution map of Artemisia minchunensis in China.