A new Asteraceae species, Aster huangpingensis W. P. Li & Z. Li from Guizhou, China, is described and illustrated based on morphological and molecular analyses. Detailed morphological comparisons indicated that A. huangpingensis is similar to A. dolichophyllus. However, it can be distinguished from A. dolichophyllus by its lower leaves (2.5) 3.3–5.8 (7.5) × 0.3–0.9 cm, narrowly oblanceolate or spatulate, bracts glandular, punctate, few or absent, involucres campanulate, 3.5–5.5 mm in diam., ray florets 11–22 and disk florets 16–28, middle phyllary margins with strigillose and eglandular hairs, stigmatic appendage equilaterally triangle-shaped, and different flowering period. Molecular analyses based on nuclear ITS and ETS sequence data supported A. huangpingensis as a distinct species, and its systematic position is determined in A. subgen. Aster sect. Aster. Cytological observations showed that the new species is diploid with its karyotype being 2n =2x =18 = 16 m + 2 sm. Its only population is located on riverbanks of a stream that will become a tourist hotspot and is in urgent need for conservation actions.

Aster saxicola W. P. Li & Z. Li, a new species of Asteraceae from southeastern Guizhou province, China, is described and illustrated based on morphological, molecular and cytological data. Morphological comparisons showed that A. saxicola is similar to A. oliganthus, but can be distinguished from the latter by its purple abaxial surface of the lower and middle cauline leaves, cordate‐ovate basal leaves with strigose hairs, outer three‐seriate phyllaries with purple or purplish apex, 9–14 ray florets and 10–18 disk florets. Phylogenetic analyses based on nrDNA ITS, ETS and plastid trnL–F DNA sequence data support that A. saxicola is a distinct species and belongs to Aster subgen. Aster sect. Ageratoides. Cytological observation shows that the new species is diploid with a karyotype formula 2n = 2x = 18 = 16m + 2sm. The new species should be considered endangered (EN) based on the IUCN red list criteria because of its restricted geographic range.

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