Taraxacum velebiticum 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 : 19-21

4. Taraxacum velebiticum Štěpánek & Kirschner , sp. nov.

Type:— CROATIA. Jugoslawien, Velebit: nordöstlich von Karlobag am Felsgrat des Mali Bristovac in etwa 970 m Seehöhe, 7 Jun 1987, H. Melzer, cultivated from achenes JŠ 3163 as JŠ 4114, collected in 1991 ( PRA, no. det. 33109, holotype; isotypes: PRA, no. det. 30976 and duplicates)

Etymology:—Named after the moutain range of the Velebit, Croatia, situated along the Adriatic coast.

Diagnosis:—Plantae T. pollinensi affines sed foliis terrae adpressis pallide canescenti-viridibus, petiolis conspicue alatis pallide viridibus, stigmatibus pallide luteis vel pallidissime luteo-viridescentibus, acheniis longioribus & pyramide tenui 0.9–1.5 mm longa differunt; a Taraxaco janchenii phyllariis involucralibus exterioribus numerosis laxe adpressis conspicue ciliatis, in parte distali saturate brunnescenti rubro-purpureis bene dignoscendae.

Plants small but not slender, usually 5–8 cm tall at anthesis. Plant base with a dark tunic, with pale brownish to dirty whitish arachnoid indumentum among petiole bases. Leaves patent, usually tightly appressed to the ground (inner, later leaves often erect-patent), elliptical to narrowly elliptical or oblanceolate in outline, usually 3–6 cm long, 0.6–1.5 cm wide, light greyish green, not spotted, subglabrous or with very sparse arachnoid hairs, pinnatisect or pinnatipartite; terminal segment relatively large, most often 0.7–1.5 cm long, 0.6–1.7 mm wide, triangular in outline, quite often hastate to trilobed, with distal part ± broadly lingulate, slightly elongated, acute to obtusely acute, distal margin sigmoid to concave, usually entire or with a single short broad tooth with a shallow incision, basal lobules patent to subrecurved, acute, proximal margin ± straight, entire; lateral segments 3 (4) pairs, patent to subrecurved, relatively short, usually 4–8 mm long, 3–4 (–5) mm wide at base, acute, distal margin sigmoid to subconcave, entire or with a single short broad tooth, proximal margin ± straight (or subconvex to subconcave), often with a single perpendicular tooth; interlobes relatively broad, usually 2–4 mm long, 2.5–5 mm wide, entire or with 1–3 smaller acute raised teeth, margin distally raised, green or faintly bordered brownish-purplish; mid-vein ± pale; petiole winged to broadly winged (narrow in late inner leaves), usually 1–1.5 cm long, pale green. Scapes pale green, medium densely arachnoid, overtopping leaves. Capitulum relatively large, to 4 cm wide, ± flat to subconvex, sometimes not fully opening, yellow. Involucre ± truncate and (6–) 8–10 mm wide at base. Outer phyllaries 15–19, imbricate, loosely appressed, relatively short, reaching ca. 1/3 of the inner phyllaries, from the ovate-lanceolate outermost phyllaries to ovate to broadly ovate more inner, conspicuously narrowed in upper 1/3 to form a lingulate apex, usually 4–6 mm long, (1.5–) 2–3.5 mm wide, with contrasting colours, very pale, whitish green and (in distal 1/2–1/3) brownish redpurple, border white-membranous, 0.1–0.3 mm wide, margin densely ciliate distally, with hairs to 0.8 mm long, apex flat; inner phyllaries mid-green, 11–13 mm long, not variable in their width, apex ± flat, brown-purple. Outer ligules straight to distally arcuate, ± flat, striped purple-reddish grey-olivaceous outside, apical teeth black-purple, inner ligule teeth yellow to to orange-yellow. Stigmas pale yellow or very indistinctly greenish yellow, with a hyaline pubescence outside. Pollen present, pollen grains irregular in size. Achenes variously red to red-brown (reddish castaneous, red, light rusty red), 4.3–5.4 mm long, 0.85–1.0 mm wide, achene body ± distinctly ridged longitudinally, relatively densely spinulose and squamulose in upper 1/2–2/3, otherwise tuberculate (central achenes sometimes spinulose in upper 1/3, otherwise smooth), spinules erect-patent, acuminate, to 0.3 mm long, body subabruptly to subgradually narrowing into a thin cylindrical or subcylindrical cone 0.9–1.5 mm long, often with minute spinules on proximal half; beak 7.5–10.5 mm long; pappus dirty white to yellowish white, 4.5–5.5 mm long.—Agamosperm.—Fig. 7, 8.

Diagnostic notes:—A species similar to T. pollinense Aquaro, Caparelli & Peruzzi (2009: 166) but having yellow to almost yellow stigmas (dark green in T. pollinense ), longer achenes, longer cone (0.9–1.5 mm versus 0.7–1.0 mm in T. pollinense ). From T. janchenii , it is distinct in having more numerous outer phyllaries with a very different coloration, and acute leaf segments.

Distribution and ecology:— Taraxacum velebiticum is known from a single locality, and probably is endemic to the Velebit range ( Fig. 15 ). It grows on limestone rocks and ledges. Its IUCN conservation status is estimated as VU.

Specimens examined:— CROATIA: Velebit , NE of Karlobag, a rocky ridge of Mali Bristovac, 970 m, 7 Jun 1987, H. Melzer, cultivated as JŠ 3163, collected in 1989. ( PRA, no. det. 30974), ibidem: cultivated from achenes of JŠ 3163 as JŠ 4114, collected in 1991 ( PRA, no. det. 30976, isotypes) .

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).