Sinosenecio yaanensis (Asteraceae, Senecioneae), a new species from western Sichuan, China

Sinosenecio yaanensis K. Huang & Z. X. Fu (Asteraceae) is described as a new species from Tianquan County, western Sichuan, China. It resembles S. chienii and S. homogyniphyllus in its scapigerous habit and palmately veined ovate to ovate-cordate radical leaves, but differs in several stable traits. Its leaves are subcoriaceous with whitish blotches adaxially and a purplish red abaxial surface, whereas S. chienii has submembranous blades that are pale green on the abaxial surface, while S. homogyniphyllus has smaller membranous leaves.

Sinosenecio yaanensis produces 3–10 (vs. 2–9 in S. chienii and mostly solitary in S. homogyniphyllus) capitula, ca. 8 (vs. 10–12 and 8–17) ray florets, and lacks a pappus (vs. absent or rarely with short hairs). Phylogenetic analyses based on chloroplast genomes and ITS sequences place S. yaanensis within the Sinosenecio – tussilaginoid assemblage corresponding to the Tussilagininae subtribe, clustering with S. chienii and S. homogyniphyllus.