Abstract
In this study, Saussurea bogedaensis Yu-J. Wang & Jie Chen, a new species from Bogeda Mountain in the eastern part of the Tianshan Mountains, is described and discussed based on evidence in terms of both morphological and genetic data. S. bogedaensis is morphologically similar to S. involucrata, which is distributed in the western part of the Tianshan Mountains, and it is well known because of its beauty, rarity, and medicinal value. The new species is also similar to S. orgaadayi, which is distributed in the nearby Altai Mountains. Our genetic data support the close relationships among these three species. According to their allopathic distributions, we suggest that these three species are derived from the same ancestor but that they differentiated after reaching their current range. In addition, we propose that the new species might serve as an alternative to S. involucrata in medicine due to their very high similarity. However, this species appears to be rare because we only found six mature individuals in the field despite extensive investigations.
Highlights
Saussurea involucrata is well known because of its beauty, rarity, and medicinal value in China
Its Chinese name, i.e., “snow lotus,” refers to its similar appearance to a lotus, which is a well-known ornamental plant. This species is usually found on mountains covered with snow all year around, which enhances its beauty and explains its associations with many mysterious legends. This species has been used for a long time as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat a wide spectrum of disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, tumor diseases, and high-altitude diseases [1,2,3,4]
Based on the results obtained in the present study, we propose to name the population found in the eastern part of the Tianshan Mountains as a new species called Saussurea bogedaensis Yu-J
Summary
Saussurea involucrata is well known because of its beauty, rarity, and medicinal value in China. Its Chinese name, i.e., “snow lotus,” refers to its similar appearance to a lotus, which is a well-known ornamental plant This species is usually found on mountains covered with snow all year around, which enhances its beauty and explains its associations with many mysterious legends. TCM has been modernized and analyses have isolated and identified more than 70 compounds in S. involucrata [5,6] This species has recently been selected as a cold-resistance model in order to exploit its genetic resources [7,8,9]. Due to its over-exploitation, S. involucrata is currently endangered and included in the list of national second-class protected plants in China [10,11], a few methods for in vitro propagation have been reported [12,13,14,15]
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