Taraxacum meierottii Štěpánek & Kirschner, 2022

Štěpánek, Jan & Kirschner, Jan, 2022, Taraxacum sect. Erythrocarpa in Europe in the Alps and eastwards: A revision of a precursor group of relicts, Phytotaxa 536 (1), pp. 7-52 : 23-25

6. Taraxacum meierottii Štěpánek & Kirschner , sp. nov.

Type:— ALBANIA. Albanien, SE Poliçan, Oberhang Tomor, an Weg Bektashik-Kloster zum Tomor-Gipfel, lückige Rasen [ Southeast of Poliçan , a path between Bektashik Monastery and the summit of Mt. Tomor], 2033 m, 40.62255° N, 20.17627° E, 31 May 2014, L. Meierott 14/258 & T. Gregor, cultivated from achenes no. JŠ 10329 as JŠ 10443, collected in 2017 ( PRA, no. det. 33110, holotype) .

Etymology:—Named after Prof. Lenz Meierott (born 8 May 1942), an internationally recognized musicologist and expert in the flora of Bavaria, a co-author of five Taraxacum names.

Diagnosis:—Plantae ex grege Taraxaci janchenii sed differunt acheniis pallide cinnamomeis vel pallide griseo-stramineis, pyramide angusta, 1.0– 1.5 mm longa, rostro 7.5–8 mm longo, phyllariis exterioribus numero 13–16, praecipue ovatis vel late ovatis, laxe adpressis, stigmatibus subluteis pallidissime viridescentibus, segmentis foliorum acutis, petiolis angustissime alatis.

Plants small to medium-sized, not slender, usually to 10 cm tall. Plant base with tunic, with whitish arachnoid indumentum among petiole bases. Leaves variously erect-patent to subpatent, bright light green, not spotted, with scattered arachnoid hairs along mid-vein above, otherwise almost glabrous, narrowly elliptical to narrowly oblanceolate or narrowly oblong, usually 4–8 cm long, 0.8–2 cm wide, pinnatisect (similar pattern as in T. umbrosum ); terminal segment relatively small, usually 7–11 mm long, 10–14 mm wide, triangular or broadly so in outline, acute, apex sometimes elongated to form a narrow, ± lingulate tip, often asymmetrical, distal margin subconcave to conspicuously concave, often with a single distinct tooth and/or an incision, otherwise entire, basal lobules patent to subrecurved, proximal margin ± straight, entire or with a little to medium-sized tooth near the base; lateral segments (4) 5–6 (7) pairs, the most proximal ones large tooth-like, the distal pairs usually ± approximated, narrowly triangular to narrow bird-wing-like, patent to recurved, narrowly acute, from a broader base ± evenly narrowed in a very narrow distal part, distal margin concave to sigmoid, often irregularly shallowly undulate, sometimes with one to several narrow, acuminate little teeth, proximal margin subconcave to ± straight, often subundulate, ± entire or with a single tooth near its base; interlobes ± long, narrow, usually 2–7 mm long, 2–4 mm wide, with green surface, narrowly bordered brownpurple, margins raised, with sparse but distinct, long narrow acuminate teeth; petiole short, usually 1–1.5 cm long, narrowly winged, ± narrow and unwinged in the inner, later leaves, light green abaxially, purplish adaxially. Scapes pale green, later getting bronze or light purple, sparsely to scattered arachnoid, later glabrescent, subequalling leaves. Capitulum 3.5 cm wide, deep yellow. Involucre light to deep green, inner phyllaries, bluish green, ± pruinose, involucre base 6–7 mm wide, truncate. Outer phyllaries 13–16, ovate to broadly ovate, the upper of them to elongate-lanceolate (sometimes the outermost one ± narrowly lanceolate, descending below capitulum), very loosely regularly appressed (forming an erect collar), usually (4–) 4.5–5.5 (–6) mm long, (2.5–) 3.5–5 mm wide, relatively short, reaching 2/5–1/2 of inner phyllaries at anthesis, generally pale green, typically with a membranous margin 0.1–0.25 (–0.3) mm wide and bordered pale green inside, with a gradual transition into a dark green narrow middle strip up to 0.5 mm wide, the distal 1/3–1/2 suffused pink-purple, ± carinate to subcorniculate below apex, margin sparsely and shortly ciliate; inner phyllaries ca. 12 mm long, not variable in width, suffused brown-purple near apex. Outer ligules flat, striped brown-purple outside, apical teeth adaxially yellow to greenish yellow, abaxially dark purplish brown-black, inner ligule teeth dark yellow to greyish. Stigmas light discoloured, dirty honey-yellow to greenish yellow, with pubescence of pale hairs with some apically dark hairs outside. Pollen abundant, pollen grains variable in size. Achenes relatively light coloured, usually light cinnamon or light greyish stramineous-brown, 4.4–5.2 mm long, (0.9–) 1.0– 1.1 mm wide, body densely covered with medium-long spinules and squamules, spinules straight, erect-patent, body otherwise tuberculate or almost smooth, subabruptly narrowing into a thin cylindrical to subcylindrical cone (1.0–) 1.3–1.5 mm long, with a few minute spinules at base; beak 7.5–8 mm long; pappus dirty white to yellowish white, 5.5–6 mm long.—Agamosperm.—Tetraploid (2n=32, counted by J. Štěpánek on JŠ 10329 as 6/2016).

Diagnostic notes:— Taraxacum meierottii is similar to T. janchenii , T. jailae and T. pindicola , and the following features are diagnostic: achenes light cinnamon to light greyish stramineous-brown, cone thin, ± cylindrical, (1.0–) 1.3–1.5 mm long, beak 7.5–8 mm long, stigmas light discoloured, outer phyllaries 13–16, very loosely appressed, mostly ovate to broadly ovate, usually 4–6 mm long, (2.5–) 3.5–5 mm wide, with pale greenish basic colour, leaf lobes acute, petiole winged (Fig. 8, 10). Taraxacum janchenii has pure yellow stigmas, brownish red achenes, outer phyllaries ± tightly appressed, beak 9–13 mm long, and leaf lobes usually obtuse. Taraxacum pindicola is characterized by regular pollen, red-brown achenes, cone only 0.2–0.7 mm long, and outer phyllaries 6–8 mm long. Last, T. jailae differs in having discoloured stigmas, outer phyllaries 13–18, loosely appressed to erect-patent, pollen usually absent, or when present, of variable pollen grains.

Distribution and ecology: — Taraxacum meierottii is known from a single macrolocality, the summit area of Mt. Tomor in the Berat Districs, south-central Albania ( Fig. 15 ). The bedrock is limestone and the vegetation is described as a sparse grassland. Its IUCN conservation status is estimated as VU.

Specimens examined:— ALBANIA: “Southeast” [in reality, the Tomor summit is to the NE] of Poliçan , a path between Bektashik Monastery and the summit of Mt. Tomor, sparse grasslands, 2033 m, 40.62255° N, 20.17627° E, 31 May 2014, L. Meierott 14/258 & T. Gregor, cultivated from achenes JŠ 10329 as JŠ 10443, collected in 2017 ( PRA, no. det. 33112), ibidem: Original plants collected in the field (herb. L. Meierott, no. det. 33108), ibidem: cultivated as JŠ 10329, collected in 2016 ( PRA, no. det. 33114) .

Figures

FIGURE 15. Distribution of species of T. sect. Erythrocarpa. Taraxacum striatifolium (squares), T. meierottii (an empty circle, Albania), T. jailae (rhombus) and T. velebiticum (star, Croatia).