''Saussurea'' is a genus of about 300 species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the tribe

Cardueae The Cardueae are a tribe of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) and the subfamily Carduoideae. Most of them are commonly known as thistles; four of the best known genera are '' Carduus'', '' Cynara'' (containing the widely eaten ar ...

within the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

, native to cool

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

and

arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

regions of

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, with the highest diversity in

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

habitats in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

and East Asia. Common names include saw-wort and snow lotus, the latter used for a number of high altitude species in East Asia. They are

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

plants, ranging in height from dwarf alpine species 5–10 cm tall, to tall

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...

-like plants up to 3 m tall. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are produced in a dense basal rosette, and then spirally up the flowering stem. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s form in a dense head of small capitula, often surrounded by dense white to purple woolly hairs; the individual florets are also white to purple. The wool is densest in the high altitude species, and aids in the thermoregulation of the flowers, minimising frost damage at night and also preventing

ultraviolet light Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...

damage from the intense high-altitude sunlight. De Candolle named the genus after Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (1740-1799) and Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure (1767–1845).

Uses

A number of the high alpine Himalayan species are grown as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

s for their decorative dense woolly flowerheads; they are among the most challenging plants to grow, being adapted to harsh climates from 3500–5000 m altitude, demanding cool temperatures, a very long (up to 8–10 months) winter rest period, and very good soil drainage in humus-rich gravel soils.

Traditional uses

left, Snow lotus fruits selling in Chiang Rai, Thailand ''Costi amari radix'' or costus root was an important item of

Roman trade with India Indo-Roman trade relations (see also the spice trade and incense road) was trade between the Indian subcontinent and the Roman Empire in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Trade through the overland caravan routes via Asia Minor and the Middl ...

, and is believed to have been the dried root of ''

Saussurea lappa ''Dolomiaea costus'', formerly known as ''Saussurea costus'', commonly known as costus, Indian costus, kuth, or putchuk, is a species of thistle in the genus ''Dolomiaea'' native to South Asia and China. Rishi (Hindu) mystics of Kashmir especiall ...

''. Several varieties of snow lotus are used in traditional Tibetan medicine. ''Saussurea lappa'' is used a component of the traditional Tibetan medicine Padma 28. Research conducted on the Himalayan medicinal plants by

C.P. Kala Chandra Prakash Kala is an Indian ecologist and professor. His research interests include alpine ecology, conservation biology, indigenous knowledge systems, ethnobotany and medicinal aromatic plants. He is an assistant professor in the facul ...

reveals that the practitioners of Tibetan medicine living in the Pin Valley of Himachal Pradesh use its root for curing dysentery and ulcer. ''

Saussurea laniceps ''Saussurea laniceps'' (common name cotton-headed snow lotus, ) is a rare snow lotus found only in the Himalayas including southwest China (in Sikkim in India and in Sichuan, Tibet and Yunnan in China). It might also occur in northern Burma. It g ...

'' '',

Saussurea involucrata ''Saussurea'' is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae, native to cool temperate and arctic regions of East Asia, Europe, and North America, with the highest diversity in alpine habit ...

'' and ''Saussurea medusa'' flowers and stems have long been used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

for the treatment of

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...

, cough with cold, stomachache,

dysmenorrhea Dysmenorrhea, also known as period pain, painful periods or menstrual cramps, is pain during menstruation. Its usual onset occurs around the time that menstruation begins. Symptoms typically last less than three days. The pain is usually in the ...

, and altitude sickness, and has been found to have antiinflammatory and analgesic effects, as well as cardiotonic, abortifacient, anticancer, and antifatigue actions.

have been proven to be more effective than ''

and Saussurea Medusa.'' ''Saussurea obvallata'', known as "brahmakamala" in India is one of the most sacred species, and it has been used for offerings to goddess Nanda Devi for time immemorial.

Pharmacology

''Saussurea lappa'' and has been shown to inhibit the

mRNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of Protein biosynthesis, synthesizing a protein. mRNA is ...

expression of

iNOS Nitric oxide synthases () (NOSs) are a family of enzymes catalyzing the production of nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine. NO is an important cellular signaling molecule. It helps modulate vascular tone, insulin secretion, airway tone, and perista ...

lipopolysaccharide Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are large molecules consisting of a lipid and a polysaccharide that are bacterial toxins. They are composed of an O-antigen, an outer core, and an inner core all joined by a covalent bond, and are found in the outer m ...

stimulated

macrophages Macrophages (abbreviated as M φ, MΦ or MP) ( el, large eaters, from Greek ''μακρός'' (') = large, ''φαγεῖν'' (') = to eat) are a type of white blood cell of the immune system that engulfs and digests pathogens, such as cancer ce ...

, thus reducing

nitric oxide Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its che ...

production. In rats, high doses of 50-200 milligrams per kilogram of crude ethanolic extract reduced observed inflammation in standard laboratory tests, and 25-100 milligrams per kilogram of the

sesquiterpene Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and often have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be cyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations. Biochemical modificatio ...

fraction of the extract reduced several molecular markers of inflammation. Ethanol extracts were shown to have analgesic and antiinflammatory effects at high doses of 75-300 milligrams per kilogram. As the slow-growing wild plant is endangered by collections, a substitute grown in tissue culture has been suggested, which is mostly equivalent. Generally the analgesic and antiinflammatory effects of the plant are much inferior to those of

indometacin Indometacin, also known as indomethacin, is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly used as a prescription medication to reduce fever, pain, stiffness Stiffness is the extent to which an object resists deformation in response t ...

Literature and culture

In most Chinese martial arts literature, the snow Lotus was classified a rare herb as precious as

lingzhi mushroom Lingzhi, ''Ganoderma lingzhi'', also known as reishi, is a polypore fungus ("bracket fungus") native to East Asia belonging to the genus ''Ganoderma''. Its reddish brown varnished kidney-shaped cap with bands and peripherally inserted stem give ...

, and old

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as Korean ginseng ('' P. ginseng''), South China ginseng ('' P. notoginseng''), and American ginseng ('' P. quinquefolius''), typically characterized by the presence of ginsenosides an ...

Selected species

Saussurea pygmaea (Zwerg-Alpenscharte) IMG 27963

Brahmakamal Kaluvinayak Chamoli Uttarakhand 2014-08-23

Saussurea alpina esthonica - Niitvälja bog

* ''Saussurea abnormis''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea acrophila''. China. * ''Saussurea albescens''. Western Himalaya. * ''

Saussurea alpina ''Saussurea alpina'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Aster ...

''. common saw-wort. Northern and central Europe, northwest Asia. * ''Saussurea amara''. China, Russia. * '' Saussurea americana''. American saw-wort. Western North America. * ''Saussurea amurensis''. China. * ''Saussurea angustifolia''. narrowleaf saw-wort. Arctic northeast Asia, Alaska, Canada. * ''Saussurea auriculata''. Himalaya, western China. * ''Saussurea bhutkesh''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea bodinieri''. China. * ''Saussurea bullockii''. China. * ''Saussurea cana''. China. * ''Saussurea candolleana''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea ceratocarpa''. Kashmir. * ''Saussurea chinnampoensis''. China. * ''Saussurea chrysotricha''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea controversa''. Russia. * ''Saussurea cordifolia''. China. * ''

Saussurea costus ''Dolomiaea costus'', formerly known as ''Saussurea costus'', commonly known as costus, Indian costus, kuth, or putchuk, is a species of thistle in the genus '' Dolomiaea'' native to South Asia and China. Rishi (Hindu) mystics of Kashmir especia ...

''. Eastern Himalaya. * ''Saussurea crispa''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea deltoidea''. Himalaya, China, Taiwan. * ''Saussurea densa''. Clustered saw-wort. Arctic northeast Asia, Canada, Montana. * ''Saussurea dhwojii''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea discolor''. Alpine central Europe. * ''Saussurea dolichopoda''. China. * ''Saussurea donkiah''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea dutaillyana''. China. * ''Saussurea dzeurensis''. China. * ''Saussurea elegans''. Caucasus. * ''Saussurea epilobioides''. China. * ''

Saussurea esthonica ''Saussurea esthonica'' is a species of ''Saussurea''. It is native to Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across fro ...

''. Eastern Europe. * ''Saussurea fastuosa''. Himalaya, western China. * ''Saussurea formosana''. Taiwan. * ''Saussurea forrestii''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea frondosa''. China. * ''Saussurea glandulosa''. Taiwan. * ''Saussurea globosa''. China. * ''Saussurea gnaphalodes''. Himalaya, western China. * ''

Saussurea gossypiphora ''Saussurea gossypiphora'' commonly known as snowball plant (Hindi:कस्तूरी कमल, kastūrī kamal; Nepali:कपासे फूल, kapāsē phūl) is a perennial herbaceous plant. It is reputed to have medicinal properties acco ...

''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea graminea''. China. * ''Saussurea graminifolia''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea grandiflora''. China. * ''Saussurea heteromalla''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea hieracioides''. Himalaya, western China. * ''Saussurea hookeri''. Himalaya. * ''

''. snow lotus, Himalaya, (Vansemberuu) Mongolia. * ''Saussurea iodostegia''. China. * ''Saussurea japonica''. Japan, Korea, northern China. * ''Saussurea kanaii''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea kanzanensis''. Taiwan. * ''Saussurea kingii''. China. * ''Saussurea kiraisanensis''. Taiwan. * ''Saussurea laminamaensis''. Himalaya. * ''

''. China. * ''Saussurea lanuginosa''. China. * ''Saussurea lappa''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea leontodontoides''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea licentiana''. China. * ''Saussurea likiangensis''. Southwest China. * ''Saussurea linearifolia''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea longifolia''. China. * ''Saussurea manshurica''. Northern China. * ''Saussurea medusa''. China. * ''Saussurea mongolica''. Western China, Mongolia. * ''Saussurea namikawae''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea neofranchetii''. China. * ''Saussurea nepalensis''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea nigrescens''. China. * ''Saussurea nishiokae''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea nivea''. China. * ''Saussurea nuda''. nutty saw-wort. Alaska. * ''

Saussurea obvallata ''Saussurea obvallata'' is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae. It is native to the Alpine meadows of the Himalayas, in India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and southwest China at altitudes of 3,700 to 4,600 m. Description ''Saussurea obval ...

''. Brahma kamal. Himalaya, northern Burma and south-west China. * ''Saussurea oligantha''. China. * ''Saussurea otophylla''. China. * ''Saussurea pachyneura''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea parviflora''. Russia, China. * ''Saussurea pectinata''. China. * ''Saussurea peguensis''. China. * ''Saussurea phaeantha''. China. * ''Saussurea pinetorum''. China. * ''Saussurea piptathera''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea platyphyllaria''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea polycephala''. China. * ''Saussurea polystichoides''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea populifolia''. China. * ''Saussurea porcii''. Carpathians. * ''Saussurea pulchella''. Japan, Korea, northern China, eastern Siberia. * ''Saussurea pygmaea''. Alps, Carpathians. * ''Saussurea quercifolia''. China. * ''Saussurea romuleifolia''. China. * ''Saussurea roylei''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea runcinata''. China. * ''Saussurea salsa''. Russia, China. * ''Saussurea simpsoniana''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea sobarocephala''. China. * ''Saussurea spicata''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea stafleuana''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea stella''. China. * ''Saussurea stracheyana''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea sughoo''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea taraxacifolia''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea tangutica''. Western Asia. * ''Saussurea topkegolensis''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea tridactyla''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea turgaiensis''. Russia. * ''Saussurea uniflora''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea ussuriensis''. China, eastern Russia. * ''Saussurea vansemberuu''. Mongolia. * ''Saussurea veitchiana''. Central China. * ''Saussurea velutina''. China. * ''Saussurea viscida''. sticky saw-wort. Alaska. * ''Saussurea weberi''. Weber's saw-wort. Rocky Mountains. * ''Saussurea werneroides''. Himalaya. * ''Saussurea yakla''. Himalaya.

References

External links

* *
Chinese plant names: ''Saussurea''

Checklist of the plants of Nepal: ''Saussurea''

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1421617 Medicinal plants Uttarakhand Asteraceae genera Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle