Artemisia grenardii Franchet (1897: 323)

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 : 54-55

3. Artemisia grenardii Franchet (1897: 323) [“ grenardi ”] ≡ Seriphidium grenardii (Franchet) Y.R. Ling & C.J. Humphries in Ling (1988: 121). Type:— INDIA. Kashmir: Tuchuk Boulak near Leh, 8 October 1892, F. Grenard et al. 10 [first-step lectotype designated by Ling (1991b); second-step lectotype designated here: P02284309!; isolectotype:— INDIA. Kashmir, Teurt Hourak Lik near Leh, 8 October 1892, F. Grenard et al. 15 (P04299649!)].

Perennial herbs, 15–20 cm tall. Stems few or numerous, erect or slightly curved at the base, branching from the upper part, branches 2–5 cm long, obliquely upward. Lower stem leaves ovate or oblong, 2-pinnatisect, 1–2.5 cm long, 0.5–1 cm wide, petiole 0.5–1.5 cm long, with 3–4 segments per side, segments further pinnatisect, lobules nearly lanceolate, 2–5 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, apex obtuse. Middle stem leaves ovate or oblong, 2-pinnatisect, 1–1.5 cm long, 0.5–1 cm wide, petiole 0.5–1 cm long, with linear pseudostipules. Upper stem leaves pinnatisect, with linear lobules. The grayish-white tomentum on the stems partially sheds at maturity, while the tomentum on the leaves persists and the leaves have a slightly soft texture. Capitula broadly ovoid, 3–4 mm long, 2–3.5 mm in diameter. Synflorescence a narrow, spike-like panicle. Bisexual florets 4–6, corolla yellow.

Notes:—In the protologue of Artemisia grenardii, Franchet (1897) cited two gathering “Teurt Hourak Lik & Tuchuk Boulak, dans l’Altyn tagh, October 1892 ”, without specifying the herbarium. Ling (1991b) later designated the collection information “Altyn Tagh, October 1892, Pl. Turkestan, Chinois” at P as the type of A. grenardii . We have traced two sheets of two gathering (one sheets for each gathering) from P. Two sheets match perfectly the original description. According to Arts. 7.10, 7.11, 9.12 and 9.17 of the ICN ( Turland et al. 2018), Ling’s (1991b) lectotypification of A. grenardii should be narrowed. Therefore, sheet P02284309 has been designated as the lectotype, and the other one sheet as the isolectotype.

Franchet (1897) mentioned that two gatherings cited in the description of A. grenardii were collected in 1892 by the French explorers Dutreuil de Rhins and Fernand Grenard during their expedition from Xinjiang to Tibet. When reviewing Fernand Grenard’s expedition notes, Tibet: The Country and Its Inhabitants ( Grenard 1904), it was found that they incorrectly identified the Kunlun Mountains in China as the Altun Mountains. Furthermore, the type specimens of A. grenardii were collected on 8 October 1892. According to Grenard’s account, they arrived in Leh (which was under Tibetan administration during the Qing Dynasty and is now part of Ladakh, India) on 2 October 1892 and departed on 20 October 1892. Based on this timeline, it is inferred that the type specimens were likely collected near Leh, rather than from the Altun Mountains as stated in the protologue.

Ling (1980) first reported the distribution of A. grenardii in the Kunlun Mountains of Xinjiang, China. This species was later included in Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae ( Ling 1991b), Flora Xinjiangensis ( Wei 1999), Flora of China ( Ling et al. 2011), and Flora Kunlunica ( Wei 2012). However, Ling’s (1980) report was based on a misinterpretation of the type locality described in the protologue. Furthermore, no definitive specimens of A. grenardii from China were examined in the current study. Consequently, we have excluded this species from the flora of China in this study.

Artemisia grenardii is currently known only from its type specimens. When examining the type, it was found that this species is similar to A. rhodantha in habit, stem height, leaf size, indumentum, branch length and position, and inflorescence type, with overlapping distributions. However, due to the absence of more detailed information, the taxonomic status of this species requires further investigation.