Artemisia brevifolia Wall. ex Candolle (1837: 103)

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 : 53-54

2. Artemisia brevifolia Wall. ex Candolle (1837: 103) ≡ Seriphidium brevifolium (Wall. ex DC.) Ling & Y.R. Ling in Ling (1980: 513). Type:— INDIA. Kumaon Division: 1830, N. Wallich 416 (first-step lectotype designated by Podlech (1986); second-step lectotype designated here: G00460116!; isolectotypes: K000942184!, K001119018!, LE00018146!).

Subshrubs, 15–45 cm tall. Stems few or numerous, erect or slightly curved at the base, branching from the middle part, branches 5–15 cm long, obliquely upward. Lower stem leaves ovate, 2–3-pinnatisect, 1.5–2.5 cm long, 1–2 cm wide, petiole 0.3–0.5 cm long, with 3–4 segments per side, segments further pinnatisect, lobules linear, 2–4 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, apex acuminate. Middle stem leaves 2-pinnatisect, 0.8–1 cm long, 0.5–0.8 cm wide, with pinnatifid pseudostipules. Upper stem leaves pinnatisect, with linear lobules. The grayish-white tomentum on the stems almost entirely sheds at maturity, revealing dark-brown upper stems, while the tomentum on the branches and leaves persists, and the leaves have a soft texture. Capitula long-ovoid or elliptic, ca. 2 mm long, 1–1.5 mm in diameter. Synflorescence a narrow or slightly spreading panicle. Bisexual florets 3–5, corolla yellow.

Notes:—In the protologue of Artemisia brevifolia, Candolle (1837) cited one gathering N. Wallich 416. Podlech (1986) later designated this gathering N. Wallich 416 at G and K as the type of A. brevifolia . We have traced four sheets of this gathering, one from G, one from LE, and two from P. All of them match well the original description. According to Arts. 7.10, 7.11, 9.12 and 9.17 of the ICN ( Turland et al. 2018), Podlech’s (1986) lectotypification should be further narrowed. Therefore, sheet G00460116 has been designated as the lectotype, and the remaining three sheets as isolectotypes.

In China, Ling (1980) firstly recorded the distribution of A. brevifolia in western Xizang based on earlier literature, such as Clarke (1876). This species was later included in Flora Xizang (Ling 1985), Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae ( Ling 1991b) and Flora of China ( Ling et al. 2011). When reviewing the literature on the species, it was found that the name, Artemisia maritima vera , described by Clarke (1876: 159), was synonymized with A. brevifolia by Ling (1980). Clarke (1876) cited specimens collected by T. Thomson from western Tibet when describing Artemisia maritima vera .

Historically, the term “ Tibet ” referred to a much larger geographical area than modern-day Xizang, China, encompassing the entire Tibetan Plateau in general (including western Sichuan, Qinghai, southern Gansu, northwestern Yunnan, Xizang, and Kashmir, etc.), while excluding most of southern Xizang at lower altitudes ( Chen et al. 2023). A review of T. Thomson’s collecting history revealed that he explored the western Himalayas from 1847 to 1849, focusing on regions such as Ladakh and Kashmir in northern India, but did not reach Xizang, China ( Hooker & Thomson 1855). Early Western plant collectors frequently referred to these areas as “ Tibet ”, leading Ling (1980) to mistakenly assume that T. Thomson’s specimens were collected in Xizang. Additionally, no definitive specimens of A. brevifolia from China were examined in the current study. Consequently, we have excluded this species from the flora of China in this study.

This species is easily distinguished from other species in A. subg. Seriphidium by its obliquely upward branches, which are 5–15 cm long, and its soft, non-shedding leaves that are densely covered with grayish-white tomentum. Additionally, the upper stems are dark-brown at maturity.