光苞蒲公英 guang bao pu gong ying

Herbs 7-18 cm tall. Petiole purplish, narrowly winged or (in inner leaves) unwinged; leaf blade mid-green, narrowly oblong, 7-15(-18) × 0.8-3.5 cm, sparsely arachnoid, pinnatisect; lateral lobes 4-6(or 7) pairs, narrowly triangular, linear-triangular, or seldom ± linear, usually 9-17 × 2.5-7 mm, recurved, proximal margin straight and usually entire, distal margin ± straight and entire or with 1-3 teeth; interlobes narrow, margin most often remotely dentate; terminal lobe narrowly triangular-sagittate or ± triangular, usually elongated, with 1 or 2 irregular lobules or incisions, apex acute. Scapes purplish green, equaling or ± overtopping leaves, sparsely arachnoid. Capitulum 3-4 cm wide. Involucre 8-10 mm wide, base ± narrowly rounded. Outer phyllaries 8-12, dark or deep green but sometimes light green or blackish green, ± not imbricate, broadly lanceolate to ovate, outermost ones (6-)7-9(-10) × 2.5-4 mm and 1/2-3/5 as long as inner ones, ± loosely appressed but later often erect-patent, venation often prominent and midvein dark, border paler, light green to whitish green but often suffused purplish, 0.3-1 mm wide, membranous, and with a gradual transition to darker middle part, margin sparsely ciliate near apex, apex ± flat in early capitula but with a thick horn in later ones; inner phyllaries 1.4-1.7 cm, apex ± flat. Ligules yellow; outer ligules flat, outside striped dark gray. Stigmas deep dirty yellow to grayish yellow. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains irregular in size. Achene ± light straw-colored brown, 3.7-4.2 × 1.2-1.3 mm; body densely spinulose in upper ca. 1/3, abruptly narrowing into a conic to subcylindric 0.5-0.8 mm cone, spinules short, thin, erect-patent to sometimes patent, and acute; beak 8-9 mm, thin. Pappus yellowish white, 6-8 mm. Fl. spring. Agamosperm.

● Hill slopes, fields; 100-300 m. Jilin.

Taraxacum lamprolepis was described from Jilin. FRPS (80(2): 19. 1999) reported it from Heilongjiang, Liaoning, and E Nei Mongol, but re-examination of the material is needed.

In the original description Taraxacum lamprolepis is compared with T. sinicum, but in FRPS (80(2). 19. 1999) T. lamprolepis is included in T. sect. Sinensia, corresponding in this conception to our T. sect. Stenoloba. Neither the achene features nor outer phyllaries point to T. sect. Stenoloba. The large thick horns developing on outer phyllaries of a few young flowering capitula, reticulate venation of outer phyllaries, relatively thick achenes, and outer phyllary shape all place this taxon in T. sect. Mongolica.