Artemisia korovinii Poljakov (1957: 279)

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 : 55-56

5. Artemisia korovinii Poljakov (1957: 279) ≡ Seriphidium korovinii (Poljakov) Poljakov (1961b: 175) . Type :— KYRGYZSTAN. Pamirs-Alai: Alai River valley, between Kyzyl-Agyn River and Czu-Agyn River; 1 September 1929, E. Korovin et I. Tisczenko 479 (holotype: TASH003338 !).

Perennial herbs, 15–25 cm tall. Stems numerous, often tufted, erect or slightly curved at the base, branching from the middle part, branches 2–10 cm long, obliquely upward. Lower stem leaves oblong or ovate, 2-pinnatisect, 1–3 cm long, 0.5–1.5 cm wide, petiole 0.5–1.5 cm long, with 3–4 segments per side, segments further pinnatisect or 3-lobed, lobules lanceolate, 3–8 mm long, 0.5–1.5 mm wide, apex obtuse. Middle stem leaves 1–2-pinnatisect, 1–2 cm long, 0.5–1 cm wide, nearly sessile, with linear pseudostipules. Upper stem leaves undivided, 1–1.5 cm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, with linear lobules. The grayish-white tomentum on the stems and branches almost completely sheds at maturity, while the tomentum on all leaves persists and the leaves have a slightly soft texture. Capitula ovoid, 3–4 mm long, 2–3 mm in diameter. Synflorescence a narrow or slightly spreading panicle. Bisexual florets 4–5, corolla yellow or red.

Notes:—In China, A. korovinii was first recorded in southwestern Xinjiang by Ling (1988). It was later included in the Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae ( Ling 1991b), Flora Xinjiangensis ( Wei 1999), and Flora of China ( Ling et al. 2011). However, no definitive specimens of this species from China were examined in this study. A literature review on A. korovinii from countries bordering Xinjiang ( Poljakov 1961a, 1961b, Nikitina 1965, Filatova 1984, 1993, Podlech 1986) revealed no records of its distribution in China. 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 red lower stems, 2-pinnatisect and slightly soft lower leaves, 2–10 cm long branches that grow obliquely upward along the stem, and red florets.