林周蒲公英 lin zhou pu gong ying

Herbs to 35 cm tall. Petiole purplish, to 10 cm, ± unwinged; leaf blade paler mid-green, narrowly oblanceolate, 15-20 × 1.6-2.5 cm, ± glabrous, pinnatilobed, midvein pale green or pinkish; lateral lobes 4-6 pairs, triangular, to 1.2 cm, usually ± patent to ± recurved, margin usually entire or rarely with a single tooth or lobule, base broad, apex attenuate and acute; interlobes 10-13 × 5-8 mm, margin entire or rarely with a single tooth or lobule; terminal lobe narrowly triangular-sagittate, elongated to 3.5 cm, margin usually entire, apex acute. Scapes brownish green but purplish at base, overtopping leaves, arachnoid below capitulum. Capitulum 3-4 cm wide. Involucre 1-1.5 cm wide, base rounded. Outer phyllaries 13-18, dark (blackish) green, ± not imbricate, linear-lanceolate, outermost ones 6-8(-10) × 1.5-2 mm and 2/3-3/4 as long as inner ones, ± appressed, with a pale almost indistinct very narrow border, margin glabrous to sparsely ciliate, with a horn below apex; inner phyllaries 1.2-1.4 cm, with a broad membranous margin, corniculate below apex. Ligules yellow; outer ligules flat, outside striped grayish pink; inner ligules with blackish purple teeth. Stigmas dirty green. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains probably irregular in size. Achene unknown. Fl. summer. Agamosperm.

● Mountain grassland slopes; ca. 4200 m. Xizang (Lhünzhub).

Taraxacum ludlowii is known only from the type specimen. Reports of collections from other counties in Xizang (FRPS 80(2): 71. 1999) are incorrect.