Rhodiola sinuata (Royle ex Edgew.) Fu

Perennial monoecious herb. Rhizome slender, branched up to 20 cm long, 2-5 mm thick. Scaly radical leaves on the apical part of rhizome. Flowering stems 1-5 in each rosette, simple, ascending or suberect, glabrous, 7.5-25 (-30) cm high, 1-2.5 mm wide. Cauline leaves alternate, sessile, narrowly obovate to linear-obovate, entire to lobulate, glabrous, acute, 7-35 x 1.5-2 mm. Inflorescence terminal, 1-13 flowered cymes or corymb-fascicles, bracteate. Bract similar to the cauline leaves. Flowers bisexual, mostly 5-merous, hypogynous, pedicel 2-6 mm. Calyx lobes basally connate, glabrous, entire, obtuse, ovate to triangular-ovate, 3-6.5 x 1.5-2.5 mm. Petals glabrous, entire, obtuse to mucronulate, elliptic, boat-shaped, 6-13 x 2-4 mm. Stamens 10, shorter than the petals, in two whorls, basifixed, epipetalous 2.5-4 mm long, alternipetalous 5-6.5 mm long. Carpels 3.5-10 x 0.7-1.5 mm, style straight, 1.5-3.5 mm long, ovary 3-5 x 0.7-1.5 mm, ovules 12-18 per locule. Nectar scales squarish, 0.5-1 x 0.4-1.2 mm. Follicles 5-12 x 1-1.5. Seeds ellipsoid, apex elongated, 0.7-1.2 x 0.2-0.4 mm.

Roots long. Caudex leaves scalelike. Flowering stems erect or creeping, ca. 15 cm, glabrous or finely mammillate, leafy. Stem leaves alternate, elliptic to obovate, 5-7 × 2-4 cm, base attenuate, margin pinnately parted or divided; segments 2 or 3, linear, 1.5-3 mm wide. Inflorescences corymbiform, compact, ca. 1.5 × 2.5 cm. Flowers bisexual, unequally 5-merous; pedicel finely mammillate or absent. Sepals narrowly triangular-linear, ca. 3 mm. Petals greenish white, elliptic, ca. 6 × 2 mm, margin entire, apex subobtuse. Stamens 10; antesepalous ones ca. 5 mm; antepetalous ones ca. 4 mm, inserted ca. 1 mm from petal base. Nectar scales subquadrangular, apex somewhat broadly truncate to subretuse. Carpels narrowly lanceolate, ca. 3.5 mm. Styles short. Follicles erect, ca. 6 mm. Seeds brown, ovoid-oblong, winged at both ends. Fl. Aug, fr. Oct.

Himalaya (Kashmir, Lahore, Garhwal to Nepal), Tibet.

Xizang, NW Yunnan (Zhongdian Xian) [India, Nepal, Pakistan].

1200-3700 m

Fl. Per.: July – September.

Grows between 1800-3000 m on rocks and crevices.

Rock crevices on slopes, scree slopes; 3200-4300 m.

Sedum sinuatum Royle ex Edgeworth, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 20: 47. 1846; S. linearifolium Royle var. sinuatum (Edgeworth) Raymond-Hamet.