A new species, Inula minipetala (Asteraceae), from Korea, formerly treated as an invalid variety

The name Inula salicina var. minipetala Y. N. Lee was originally published in 1996 in Flora of Korea with a brief Latin diagnosis, but without indication of the herbarium where the type specimen is conserved. This omission constitutes non-compliance with Article 40.7 of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), thereby rendering the name not validly published (nomen invalidum). Although recent field surveys have not confirmed its continued presence at the original locality in Jeonui-myeon (Sejong City), where it was first reported, this morphologically distinct taxon has repeatedly been reported under the vernacular name ‘Jeon-ui-geum-bul-cho’ from several localities throughout central Korea. It is consistently distinguished by its conspicuously short ligulate ray florets (lamina 3–4 mm), linear-lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate entire leaves with appressed pilose hairs and glandular dots on the abaxial surface, a pappus shorter than the corolla of the disc florets, and a compact, subglobose involucre composed of four series of broadly lanceolate phyllaries. In particular, the outermost phyllaries are notably shorter than the inner ones, and the cypselae are glabrous or only sparsely pubescent at the apex. These features collectively constitute a diagnostic combination of characters that clearly distinguishes this species from other Korean Inula. Although formerly associated with Inula salicina, phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer sequences indicate that the lineage forms a wellsupported and independent clade more closely allied to the I. japonica complex. As Lee’s original material is no longer traceable, we designate a newly collected specimen as the holotype and hereby propose this entity as a new species endemic to Korea: Inula minipetala Y. N. Lee ex H. B. Kim & D. C. Son, sp. nov.