TIBETICA  (Hooker f. & Thomson) S.R.Fu, 1965

Synonyms :

Sedum tibeticum  Hooker f. & Thomson (1858) / Sedum quadrifidum var. tibeticum  (Hooker f. & Thomson) Fröderström (1930) / Chamaerhodiola tibetica  (Hooker f. & Thomson) Nakai (1934)

Sedum stracheyi  Hooker f. & Thomson (1858) / Sedum tibeticum var. strachyei  (Hooker f. & Thomson) C.B.Clarke (1878) / Chamaerhodiola stracheyi  (Hooker f. & Thomson) Nakai (1934)

Type : Thomson s.n., Tibet.

Subgenus Rhodiola, section Chamaerhodiola

Distribution : W Himalaya (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, India [Himachal Pradesh]), SW Tibet, stony slopes, 4100 - 5400 m.

Description (by H. Ohba in IHSP, 2003) :

Dioecious, 7 - 25 cm tall. 

Rhizomes cylindrical, to 1 cm in diameter, often branching.

Flowering stems usually fastigiate, 1.5 - 2 mm in diameter, marcescent, glabrous.

Leaves sessile, ascending, narrowly oblong to oblong-ovate, 5 - 12 x 2.5 - 4 mm, glabrous, smooth, tip acute to obtuse, base truncate to round, margin entire.

Inflorescences 20- to 40-flowered, 2 - 3 cm long and in diameter, pedicels < 4 mm, smooth.

FIowers 4 - 5 mm (male) or 5 – 6 mm (female) long, calyx 2.4 - 2.8 mm (male) or 3.4 - 4.2 mm (female), tube ± 1 mm (male) or 1.7 - 2 mm (female), sepals narrowly triangular to Iinear-lanceolate (male) or linear-subulate to linear-Ianceolate (female), 1.4 - 1.7 mm (male) or 1.7 - 2.1 mm (female), petals oblong (male) or narrowly oblong to oblong (female), purplish-red, 2.6 - 3 mm (male) or 2.3 - 3.2 mm (female), spreading (male) or ascending to suberect (female), stamens usually slightly longer than the petals, anthers reddish, nectar scales oblong to very broadly oblong, 0.8 - 1 mm, carpels 6 - 9 mm [1.5 -1.8 mm (male)], each with ca 16 ovules, fruits 8 - 10 mm, erect, seeds 1.7 - 2.7 mm, linear to oblong, terminally shortly tailed, brown, longitudinally lowly striate, tip rounded.