Taraxacum indulgens Stepanek &amp; Kirschner 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kirschner, Jan
name: Štěpánek, Jan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Asterales
Asteraceae
Taraxacum
Taraxacum indulgens

description: <b>8.</b> <i>Taraxacum indulgens</i> Št&amp;ecaron;pánek &amp; Kirschner, <i>sp. nov.</i> <b>Type</b>:— RUSSIA. Republic of Tuva, Erzin, 3 km W of village Moren, flat valley of river Erzin, steppe with extrazonal forest of <i>Larix</i>, <i>Betula</i>, <i>Picea obovata</i>, <i>Populus laurifolia</i> on gravel bank, 940 m, 50°18’05” N, 95°19’25” E, 30 Jun 2013, <i>J. Vondrák &amp; I. Frolov</i>, cultivated from achenes “ Tuva 3” as JŠ 9928, collected in 2015 (PRA, no. det. 36784 holotype; isotype: PRA, no. det. 36786, with numerous duplicates). <b>Etymology</b>:—Indulgent, lenient, benevolent. <b>Exsiccates</b>:— <i>Taraxaca Exs</i>., no. 1356. <i> <i>Diagnosis</i>:—Plantae</i> Taraxaci ledebourii <i>affines sed differunt achenii colore, pyramide longiori, phyllariis exterioribus brevioribus, ceterum etiam phyllariis paucis laxe adpressis late ovatis pallide viridibus et acheniis brevibus notabiles.</i> Plants small or medium-sized, 9–12 cm tall, later up to 18 cm tall. Petiole narrow, unwinged or very narrowly winged, usually 2–4 cm long, inconspicuously light greyish brown-purple, ± densely arachnoid; plant base with tunic, densely dirty white arachnoid among petiole bases. Leaves numerous, subprostrate to erect-patent or ascending, narrowly oblanceolate to linear-oblanceolate in outline, 5–10 × 1.2–2.5 cm, not spotted, ± sparsely arachnoid along and on mid-vein, regularly pinnatisect; lateral segments in 4–5 (6) pairs, ± patent, linear or narrowly lingulate, usually 5–11 × 1–2 mm, acute to acuminate, distal margin subconvex to subsigmoid, entire or with a single minute tooth, proximal margin subsigmoid to subconcave, entire; terminal segment relatively small, usually 6–14 × 8–14 mm, ± triangular in outline, sometimes ± helmet-shaped, usually trilobed with its terminal part lingulate to narrowly lanceolate, entire, basal lobules patent, narrowly lingulate to narrowly oblong, ca. 3–6 mm long, acute, entire; interlobes narrow, usually 5–8 × 1.5–3 mm, unbordered, not blotched, entire or with 1–2 narrow acute teeth or lobules; mid-vein adaxially ± densely arachnoid, purplish to brownish, rarely light green. Scapes ± densely arachnoid, suffused brown-purple at base and distally, otherwise lighter brownish-purplish, ± equalling leaves. Capitulum yellow, ca. 3 cm wide, ± flat. Involucre rounded at base. Outer phyllaries 9–11, loosely appressed to erect, subimbricate or not imbricate, broadly ovate to ovate (upper up to ovate-lanceolate), reaching 2/5–1/2 of the inner, usually 5–6 × (3–) 4–4.5 mm, surface light green (pale green in early capitula), often with a dark, blackish, thin middle line, with a gradual transition in a membranous, translucent border 0.3–0.5 mm wide, margin irregularly minutely ciliate, apex flat; inner phyllaries ca. 11 mm long, of ± unequal width. Outer ligules flat, striped purplish grey-olivaceous outside, teeth red-brown, inner ligule teeth dark yellow to reddish. Stigmas ± light discoloured, light greyish yellow-green, with dark pubescence outside. Pollen present, pollen grains irregular in size. Achenes red-brown to castaneous, with a silvery hue when fully ripe, short and relatively thick, usually (3.4–) 3.6–3.8 × 0.9–1.0 mm, body subdensely to densely spinulose in upper 1/3, with spinules erect-patent, thin, up to 0.3 mm long, body ± abruptly narrowing into a thin cylindrical cone (0.8–) 0.9–1.0 mm long, often with 1 (–2) spinules at base; beak 8–9.5 mm long; pappus ± dirty white, ca. 6 mm long. – Agamosperm. – Fig. 9. <b>Diagnostic notes</b>:— <i>Taraxacum indulgens</i> is distinct in having few, broadly ovate to ovate, light green outer phyllaries usually 4–4.5 mm wide, with a very gradual transition from green middle part towards membranous borders, and achenes short, relatively thick, red-brown to castaneous, with a thin cylindrical cone. <i>Taraxacum ledebourii</i> is similar in its leaf shape but different in the achene colour, a much shorter cone, paler stigmas and longer outer phyllaries. <b>Distribution and habitat</b>:— <i>Taraxacum indulgens</i> is known from a single macrolocality in the Tuva Republic; it grows in a steppe habitat on gravel at locally relatively low elevation below 1000 m.
description: Published as part of <i>Kirschner, Jan &amp; Štěpánek, Jan, 2023, A taxonomic revision of Taraxacum sect. Dissecta, a continental steppe group common in Siberia and adjacent regions of Central Asia, pp. 1921-1935 in Phytotaxa 590 (1)</i> on pages 1921-1935, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.590.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7780271