Rhodiola

TRICARPA   Meng & Rao, 2015

Subgenus Rhodiola, section Chamaerhodiola.

 

Distribution : Summits of mountains in Jiacha County,  Qusong County,  Longzi County, Xizang (Tibet) China, 5000 - 5200 m.

 

Description :

Perennial dioecious herb, 1 - 5 cm high.

Caudex cylindrical, 3 - 7 mm thick, 8 - 40 mm long, erect, apical part densely covered with scaly radical leaves which are chartaceous, persitent, triangular-ovate to very broadly triangular with entire, margins, acute-acuminate at apex, 3 - 5 mm long, 1 - 3 mm wide, blackish brown.

Leaves alternate, rather densely arranged on the upper part, ascending-spreading, sessile, spurless, thick herbaceous, flattish, yellowish green, linear to linear-lanceolate, acute-acuminate at the apex, very short attenuate at the base, entire along the margin, 4 - 5 mm long, 0.8 - 1 mm wide, glabrous on both surfaces, the midrib not obvious.

Flowering stems 3 - 10 from each branch apex of rhizomes, deciduous, 5 - 12 mm long, 0.2 - 0.3 mm thick, erect, simple, terete, glabrous, persistent old flowering stems like a long scaly radical leaf but with a big midrib, long-linear, 5 - 7 mm long, 0.2 - 0.4 mm wide.

Flowering stems with 1 (-3) flowers, scarcely bracteate (female), bracts leaflike, linear to linear-subulate, rounded (-acute) at apex, 4 - 4.5 mm long and 1 mm wide.

Flowers 3- merous, 3 - 5 mm across at anthesis, pedicellate, pedicels 1 - 3 mm long, curved, sepals (female) yellow-green, glabrous, curved,  free, triangular, acute-obtuse at apex, 1.6 - 2 mm long, 0.3 - 1.2 (-1.4) mm wide, margins entire, flattish, erect-suberect at anthesis, petals free, pink, green at base, triangular, obtuse-acute at apex, 1 - 1.4 mm long, 0.6 -0.8 mm wide, margins entire, curved, spreading at anthesis.

 

Rhodiola tricarpa has similarities with R. coccinea, R. fastigiata and R. tangutica.

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