Saussurea taquetii reported from Jejudo Island is either treated as a synonym of S. japonica or is recognized as a distinct taxon. Saussurea japonica and S. pulchella belong to the sect. Theodorea by having peculiar outer phyllaries with pale purplish scarious apical appendages; they are closely related to each other morphologically and are known to occur widely throughout the Korean Peninsula. To assess the taxonomic status of S. taquetii, we investigated representative populations of S. taquetii from jejudo Island, Korea, and S. japonica from Kyushu in Japan. We conducted a comparative study morphologically using specimens of three species from KH, CNU, and TI. Saussurea taquetii is very similar morphologically and ecologically to S. japonica in Kyushu. Unlike previous floristic treatments, we concluded that the two taxa, S. pulchella and S. taquetii, occur on the Korean Peninsula and on jejudo Island, respectively.
Taxonomic entity of Saussurea taquetii (Asteraceae) compared with S. japonica and S. pulchella