Saussurea
Ann. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. 16: 156, 196, plates 10–13. 1810.
Perennials, 5–120+ cm; herbage tomentose or glabrescent, not spiny. Stems erect or ascending, simple or branched. Leaves basal or cauline (sometimes cauline only), sessile or petiolate; blade margins entire or dentate to pinnately lobed, faces glabrous to densely tomentose, glandular or eglandular. Heads discoid, borne singly or in corymbiform arrays. Involucres ovoid to campanulate or ± turbinate. Phyllaries many in 3–5(–10+) series, subequal to strongly unequal, appressed or not, ovate to lanceolate, margins entire, toothed, or lobed, apices obtuse or acute, appendaged or not, not spine-tipped. Receptacles flat or convex, epaleate, smooth, usually subulate-scaly, sometimes bristly or naked. Florets 10–20; corollas white to blue or purple, tubes slender, abruptly expanded to throats, lobes linear; anther bases short-tailed, apical appendages linear, acute; style branches: fused portions with minutely hairy subterminal nodes, distinct portions oblong to linear, short-papillate. Cypselae oblong, ± angled, cylindric or 4–5-angled, ribs (when present) smooth or roughened, apices entire, glabrous or minutely glandular, attachment scars basal; pappi usually of 2 series, outer of readily falling, short bristles, inner persistent or falling as unit, of basally connate, usually longer, plumose bristles. x = 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19?.
Distribution
North America, Eurasia, 1 in Australia.
Discussion
Species 300–400 (6 in the flora).
Saussurea is a notoriously difficult, largely Asiatic genus with species boundaries often indistinct.
Selected References
Lower Taxa
Key
| 1 | Outer and mid phyllaries with toothed or lobed appendages | Saussurea amara |
| 1 | Outer and mid phyllaries entire, without appendages | > 2 |
| 2 | Proximal leaves ovate to lanceolate, usually more than 30 mm wide, bases broadly obtuse to truncate or cordate; plants 30–120 cm | > 3 |
| 2 | Proximal leaves linear to elliptic, 2–25 mm wide, bases acute to acuminate; plants 3–40 cm | > 4 |
| 3 | Cauline leaves usually more than 20, finely to ± coarsely serrate or dentate; s Alaska and Yukon to California, Idaho, and Montana | Saussurea americana |
| 3 | Cauline leaves usually 15 or fewer, coarsely laciniate-dentate; nw Alaska | Saussurea triangulata |
| 4 | Phyllaries subequal, linear to lanceolate; receptacles naked | Saussurea nuda |
| 4 | Phyllaries strongly unequal, the outer ovate to lanceolate, conspicuously shorter than inner; receptacles scaly | > 5 |
| 5 | Tips of outer and mid phyllaries acute; Alaska and nw Canada | Saussurea angustifolia |
| 5 | Tips of outer and mid phyllaries ± rounded; Rocky Mountains | Saussurea weberi |