苍叶蒲公英 cang ye pu gong ying

Herbs 15-20 cm tall, base usually thickened by remnants of old petioles. Petiole purplish, ± unwinged; leaf blade glaucous green to grayish green, linear to linear-oblanceolate, ca. 10 × 0.8-1.1 cm, ± glabrous, margin subentire, remotely dentate, or shallowly lobed, midvein pinkish; lateral lobes or teeth 1-3 pairs, sometimes alternate, mostly 3-4 mm, apex linear, narrow, and patent; interlobes long, margin entire; terminal lobe conspicuously elongated, to 3 cm, margin entire. Scapes brownish green, overtopping leaves, ± glabrous to sparsely arachnoid. Capitulum ca. 2 cm wide. Involucre 7-8 mm wide, base ± rounded. Outer phyllaries 10-13, dark green, ± not imbricate, linear-lanceolate, outermost ones 5-7 × 1.2-1.5 mm and 1/2-2/3 as long as inner ones, ± subappressed, with a narrow paler border ± white at base and distally pinkish, margin subglabrous, apex with a conspicuous perpendicular horn; inner phyllaries 1.3-1.5 cm, with a horn below apex. Ligules yellow, subtubular to involute; outer ligules outside striped pale grayish pink. Stigmas dark. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains irregular in size. Achene dark gray, 3.5-4 × 1.1-1.3 mm; body distally spinulose, subabruptly narrowing into a thick subcylindric 0.8-0.9 × ca. 0.4 mm cone; beak longer than ca. 5 mm. Pappus ± yellowish white, 6-7 mm. Fl. summer. Agamosperm.

● Alpine grassland slopes; 3900-4200 m. Xizang.

Reports of Taraxacum glaucophyllum from Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan (FRPS 80(2): 70. 1999; Higher Pl. China 11: 786. 2005) should be revised.

Achenes described in the protologue of Taraxacum glaucophyllum probably come from the paratype specimen (Lhasa, H. E. Richardson 307A, BM) and are not conspecific with the holotype. The holotype achenes, although also immature, show signs of darkening, and the description of ripe ones (mainly from JŠ 6223B, PRA) is included in the present description.