Taraxacum sect. Rhodocarpa van Soest (1954: 15)

Štěpánek, Jan & Kirschner, Jan, 2022, Taraxacum rhodocarpum and T. schroeterianum (Asteraceae, Crepidinae) are not synonyms, and T. sect. Rhodocarpa is the correct name for T. sect. Alpestria, Phytotaxa 548 (2), pp. 295-300 : 298

Taraxacum sect. Rhodocarpa van Soest (1954: 15)

Type:— Taraxacum rhodocarpum Dahlst.

Note:— Van Soest (1954: 16) explicitly included the name T. rhodocarpum in his new T. sect. Rhodocarpa and did not designate any type, and therefore Art. 10.8 applies ( Turland et al. 2018).

= Taraxacum sect. Alpestria ( van Soest 1966a: 35) van Soest (1966b: 459)

≡ Taraxacum subgroup Alpestria van Soest (1966a: 35)

Type:— Taraxacum reophilum van Soest (1959: 132 , as “reopliclum”)

The heterogeneous nature of T. sect. Alpestria was mentioned elsewhere, with a more detailed discussion ( Štěpánek et al. 2011, Štěpánek & Kirschner 2022). There are several species groups characterized morphologically, e.g. the group of T. alpestre ( Tausch 1821: 564) Candolle (1838: 148) , comprised of eight species around T. nigricans (Kitaibel in Schultes 1814: 405) Reichenbach (1831: 270), or the group of T. rhaeticum van Soest (1959: 134) , or the group around T. reophilum . However, even when T. sect. Alpestria would be understood as a narrow group of several species around T. reophilum , T. rhodocarpum should be included in it.

The following description emphasizes features shared by the majority of the members of T. sect. Alpestria, but covers also morphological extremes.

Description:—Plants medium-sized to ± robust; plant base without tunic. Leaves erect, erect-patent to ± patent, most often subglabrous to glabrous, usually deeply dissected, often having a shape of those of T. officinale s. lat., petiole often winged, or unwinged, mid-vein without the longitudinally striate pattern. Capitulum yellow, usually deep yellow or golden yellow, often large; stigmas discoloured, pollen usually present. Involucre medium broad, rounded to obconical at base, pruinose or not so. Outer phyllaries most often 12–19, ± appressed, loosely appressed, erectpatent, arcuate-patent to arcuate recurved, not tightly appressed, nor reflexed, usually from narrowly lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, relatively short, most frequently (5–) 6–9 × 2–3.5 mm, surface usually ± evenly olivaceous-green, dark olivaceous-green, deep grey-green, often blackish-green when dry, most often with an abrupt transition in an inconspicuous, membranous or whitish-membranous border 0.1–0.3 mm wide, sometimes border absent or broader, margin glabrous or sparsely minutely ciliate, apex flat. Achenes light stramineous-brown, light yellowish brown, light greyish stramineous-brown, sometimes light brown to medium brown, or castaneous-brown or reddish brown, 3.5–5 × ca. 0.9–1.1 mm, achene body usually ± densely spinulose above, most often abruptly or subabruptly, seldom to gradually narrowing in a short subcylindrical to subconical, sometimes conical, cone usually 0.5–0.9 mm long, rarely longer; beak thin, persistent, (4.5–) 6–8 (–9) mm long, pappus ± white.