Saussurea laniceps
| Saussurea laniceps | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Tribe: | Cynareae |
| Genus: | Saussurea |
| Species: | S. laniceps |
| Binomial name | |
| Saussurea laniceps Hand.-Mazz. |
|
Saussurea laniceps (common name Cotton Headed Snow Rabbit, Cotton Headed Snow Lotus, Chinese: 綿頭雪兔子, shared with several other similar species of Saussurea) is a rare plant found only in the Himalaya and southwest China above about 3500 m altitude. It is reputed to have medicinal properties according to traditional Chinese medicine.
Preferential collection of the larger plants of the species for medicinal use appears to be causing natural selection to favour shorter plants in areas that are heavily harvested. Plants in an area that is protected are about 9 cm taller than plants in the harvest areas. Another closely related plant that is not as desirable to collectors, Saussurea medusa, shows no height differences between the protected area and the harvest area. The height differences in the plant may have unknown effects such as reduction of seed production due to shorter stalks but no studies have been done to ascertain the effects.
[edit] References and external links
- Law W, Salick J (2005). "Human-induced dwarfing of Himalayan snow lotus, Saussurea laniceps (Asteraceae)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109 (29): 10218–10220. doi:10.1073/pnas.0502931102. PMC 1177378. PMID 16006524. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1177378.
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