Artemisia gobica (Krasch.) Grubov (1972: 296)

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 : 19

10. Artemisia gobica (Krasch.) Grubov (1972: 296) ≡ Artemisia mongolorum subsp. gobica Krascheninnikov (1936: 350) ≡ Artemisia nitrosa var. gobica (Krasch.) Poljakov (1961: 581) ≡ Seriphidium nitrosum var. gobicum (Krasch.) Ling (1988: 114) . Type:— MONGOLIA. Gobi Altai: 30 km from Barun-Saikhan Mountains, 25 September 1931, N. & V. Ikonnikov-Galitzky 4653 (lectotype designated here: LE01018098!). Syntypes:— MONGOLIA. Bombotu- Khairkhan Mountains, near Khust River, 10 October 1930, E. Pobedimova 851 (LE 01018095!); Tuin-gol and Tatsingol river valleys, 13 September 1924, N. Pavlov 1395 (LE01018097!, MW0595094!); from Dundu-Saikhan to Bain- Tukhum, 28 September 1931, N. & V. Ikonnikov-Galitzky 4377 (LE01018096!).

Perennial herbs or slightly subshrubs, 20–40 cm tall. Stems few, erect or slightly curved upwards proximally, branching from the middle, branches 3–15 cm long, obliquely pointing upwards or slightly spreading. Lower stem leaves oblong-ovate or long-elliptic, 2–3-pinnatisect, 2–4 cm long, 1–2 cm wide, petiole 1–5 cm long, with 4–6 segments per side, segments further pinnatisect, lobules linear, 3–5 mm long, 0.5–1.5 mm wide, with an obtuse-acuminate apex. Middle stem leaves ovate, 1–2-pinnatisect, 1.5–2.5 cm long, 1–1.5 cm wide, subsessile, with pinnatifid pseudostipules. Upper stem leaves pinnatisect or trifid, with linear lobules. The grayish-white 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 ovoid, 2–3 mm long, 1.5–2.5 mm in diameter. Synflorescence a narrow spike-like panicle. Phyllaries in 4–5 series, outer phyllaries small, ovate, middle phyllaries oblong-ovate, outer and middle phyllaries abaxially initially grayish-white arachnid-pubescent, glabrescent and glabrous, inner phyllaries semi-membranous, abaxially subglabrous. Bisexual florets 3–10, corolla yellow or red. Anthers linear, apex appendages lanceolate, base shortly acuminate. Styles short, slightly forked at the apex, with cilia on the apical part. Achenes with inconspicuous fine longitudinal lines, obovoid.

Distribution and habitat:—This species is distributed in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, China ( Figure 11 ). It grows in desert or semidesert steppes, gobi, and saline-alkaline soils at elevations of 700–1500 m.

Phenology:—Flowering and fruiting from August to October.

Taxonomic notes:—In the protologue of Artemisia gobica, Krascheninnikov (1936) cited four gatherings: N. & V. Ikonnikov-Galitzky 4653, E. Pobedimova 851, N. Pavlov 1395 and N. & V. Ikonnikov-Galitzky 4377, without specifying the herbarium. We have traced five sheets of these four gatherings, four from LE and one from MW. All of them match well the original description. Therefore, according to Arts. 9.6 and 9.12 of the ICN ( Turland et al. 2018), sheet LE01018098 has been designated as the lectotype, and the other sheets are remaining syntypes.

Artemisia gobica seems morphologically similar to A.mongolorum Krascheninnikov (1936:350) and was classified as a subspecies of the latter ( Krascheninnikov 1936). However, Poljakov (1961a) disagreed with this classification and reclassified A. gobica as a variety of A. nitrosa , further proposing that A. schischkinii Krascheninnikov (1949: 2) is conspecific with it, a view adopted by Chinese taxonomists ( Ling 1991b, Fu 1993, Wei 1999, Ling et al. 2011). Grubov (1972) did not support the classifications proposed by either Krascheninnikov (1936) or Poljakov (1961a), and instead recognized A. gobica as a separate species, a view later endorsed by Filatova (1984, 1986, 1993, 2007) and Urgamal et al. (2014). In contrast, Krasnoborov (1997) treated A. gobica as a synonym of A. mongolorum , which has not been widely accepted.

When examining the type specimens of A. gobica , A. nitrosa , A. mongolorum , and A. schischkinii , it was found that A. gobica is similar to A. mongolorum in habit but can be easily distinguished by its grayish-white (vs. pale-white) tomentose stems, obliquely upward middle branches (vs. slightly spreading lower branches), and obtuse lobule apices (vs. acute). Furthermore, A. gobica with middle branching and grayish-white tomentose stems is distinctly different from A. nitrosa , which has upper branching and grayish-green tomentose stems. Additionally, it is inappropriate to consider A. gobica and A. schischkinii as the same species due to their significant differences in plant height (former: 15–40 cm tall vs. latter: 3–10 cm tall) and lower leaves (former: 2–4 cm long vs. latter: 1–1.5 cm long). Consequently, this study supports recognizing A. gobica as a separate species.

Specimens examined:— China. Xinjiang: Qinghe , adjacent to S228 highway, 1097 m, 1 October 2020, G.Z. Jin jgz20201001 ( XJBI) .

Figures

FIGURE 11. Distribution map of Artemisia gobica in China.