Phaeonychium albiflorum (T. Anderson) Jafri

Incompletely known from the type gathering only. It occupied an odd place under Christolea Camb. (Ermania Cham. ex Schulz) because of its stellate hairs and narrow, almost entire leaves. It is very close to the previous species except for the small size, leafy stem and smaller leaves. Phaeonychium surculosum (Busch) Botsch. (in Nov. Syst. Lening. 17:177.1955; Parrya surculosa Busch in Kom., Fl. U.R.S.S. ed 2, 8:647. 1939; Wakilia qfghanica Gilli l.c. 221) from C. Asia and Afghanistan, do not seem to be different from it.

Perennial, 3-10 cm tall, clothed with minute, stellate, soft hairs, leafy. Radical leaves narrowly spathulate or oblanceolate, 10-20 mm long, 2-4 mm broad, entire or obscurely 1-3-lobulate; cauline leaves linear or oblanceolate, smaller. Racemes 10-15-flowered, sometimes bracteate below. Flowers 5-6 mm across, white; pedicels up to 5 mm long in fruit, ascending or erect. Sepals c. 3 mm long. Petals 7-8 mm long, 3-3.5 mm broad. Stamens c. 3: 3.5 mm long. Siliquae (very young) c. 5 mm long, 1 mm broad, linear, densely pubescent with minute stellate hairs; style c. 1 mm long, glabrous with short, sub-bibbed stigma; seeds not seen.

Plants 2-8 cm tall; caudex slender, few branched, usually without leaf remains of previous years. Trichomes short-stalked, dendritic or few forked, appressed. Stems erect, often simple from caudex, pubescent. Basal leaves rosulate; petiole 1-5 mm, not ciliate, slender; leaf blade oblanceolate or narrowly spatulate, 2-10(-17) × 1-4 mm, uniformly tomentose on both surfaces, base attenuate or cuneate, margin entire or distally 1-3-toothed, apex obtuse to subacute. Cauline leaves similar to basal, smaller upward, narrowly oblanceolate or sublinear, middle and upper ones always entire. Racemes 8-15-flowered, basally bracteate. Pedicel slender, suberect or ascending, straight, 2-5 mm in flower, tomentose. Sepals 2-2.7 × 1-1.5 mm, sparsely pubescent, margin broadly membranous. Petals white, fading lavender on claw, broadly spatulate, 6-8 × 3-4 mm, apex rounded; claw 3-4 mm. Filaments white, median pairs 2.7-3.5 mm, lateral pair 1.5-2 mm; anthers oblong, 0.5-0.6 mm. Immature fruit linear, densely tomentose; style ca. 0.5 mm; stigma capitate, entire. Seeds unknown.

Distribution: Endemic to W. Tibet.

Fl. Per.: June-July.

Xizang [Kashmir].

Cheiranthus albiflorus T. Anderson in J. D. Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 1: 133. 1872; Christolea albiflora (T. Anderson) Jafri; Ermania albiflora (T. Anderson) O. E. Schulz.