National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

Northern Tibet, Camp XVII, at a river, 4024 m., 31st July 1900 (flow.); Kar-
yakak-sai, Camp X, Chimen-tagh, 3984 m., 21st July 1900 (flow.); Mandarlik,
3437 m., medio July 1900 (flow.; some spec. very large); Eastern or Inner Tibet,
near Camp XLIV, 5127 m., 18th Aug. 1901 (flow.); S. W. Tibet, Camp CCXI, East
of the lake Manasarovar, 4654 m., 24th July 1907 (flow.).

Geogr. area: (of the var.): Tibet and Himalaya. In the Kew Herb. I have only
seen one specimen of it; it lies amongst plants of the following species and was collected
by J. D. Hooker at Sikkim, 24th July 1849.

That A. flaccidus Bunge and A. heterochæta Benth. are the same species I
feel convinced after examination of the ample material in the Kew Herb. But under
the latter name is also found another plant, which perhaps is De Candolle's ori-
ginal Heterochæta asteroides. In Kew Herb. there are several sets of specimens
collected by Royle, and De Candolle's plant was founded on material given him
by Royle, but as Royle's sets are mixtures of several species and as De Candolle's
description is quite insufficient, I dare not use his name for a species which I am
going to describe below and which has been mixed up with A. flaccidus (A. hete-
rochæta), from which it seems fairly distinct.

A. Hedinii Ostf. nov. sp.; A. heterochæta Benth. pro min. parte; (?) Hetero-
chæta asteroides De Cand. Prodr. V (1836) 282.

Sect. Alpigeni. Planta perennis, ± hirsuta, monocephala; rhizoma breve (præ-
morsum) radicibus ± numerosis, tuberosis fasciculatis instructum. Folia rosulata ob-
longa vel oblongo-obovata, integra, obtusa; folia caulina minora, oblonga, basi semi-
amplectente. Rateæ involucri lineares vel oblongo-lineares, acutæ, subtus pilis ±
glanduliferis atratisque tectæ. Capitula magna (diametro 2.5—3 mm.); corollæ florum
exteriorum angustæ purpureo-lilacinae, interiorum flavæ; achenia dense pilis albis
adpressis tectæ. Ceterum ut A. flaccidus cui proxime.

This plant is easily distinguished from the other species by its tuberous adven-
titious roots and the silky-hairy achenes. It differs further from A. flaccidus in the
more even hairiness of the stem and stem-leaves, the latter usually being more
numerous and larger.

The silky-hairy achenes point towards the Heterochæta asteroides D. C.,
which is described as having »achænio villoso«, while Clarke when transferring it
to Aster under the name of A. heterochæta says: »achænium pilis tenuibus patulis
inspersume. De Candolle has only had the upper part of a plant and has conse-
quently no description of the tuberous roots. But also if we admit that De Candolle's
description covers our plant, it still needs a new name when transferred to Aster.

This plant is in Hedin's collection:
S. W. Tibet, on the way between Camp CCIII, Dara-sumkor, 4931 m., and
Camp CCIV, Bak-gyäyorap, 4870 m., the northern foot of Himalaya, 16th July 1907 (flow.)