亚东蒲公英 ya dong pu gong ying

Herbs 8-15 cm tall. Petiole usually purplish to pinkish, arachnoid at base, narrow to narrowly winged; leaf blade grayish green, sometimes suffused brownish purple, ± oblanceolate, 7-11(-13) × 1.3-2 cm, arachnoid but later sparsely so, pinnatisect or less often pinnatilobed, midvein light green; lateral lobes 2-4 pairs, triangular to deltoid, recurved, proximal margin straight and ± entire, distal margin usually denticulate and straight or convex but in inner leaves often concave, apex acute; interlobes short, margin often raised and with a few teeth; terminal lobe triangular-sagittate but sometimes hastate, to 3 cm, margin ± entire or often with incisions or lobules, apex ± acute. Scapes brownish purple, subequaling leaves, arachnoid. Capitulum 2.5-3.5 cm wide. Involucre 8-9 mm wide, base ± rounded. Outer phyllaries 11-14, light grayish green, subimbricate, ± lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, outermost ones 6-7 × 1.5-2.2 mm and 1/2-3/5 as long as inner ones, appressed, some erect-patent, narrow middle part blackish green, border getting paler from pale greenish near middle to whitish green near margin and 0.1-0.3 mm wide, margin subglabrous, apex pinkish and ± callose; inner phyllaries 1.2-1.5 cm, apex ± callose. Ligules yellow; outer ligules outside striped blackish pink; inner ligules with ± yellow apical teeth. Stigmas yellowish green but dark green when dry. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains irregular in size. Achene light grayish straw-colored brown, 3.9-4.3 × 0.9-1 mm; body ± smooth below, ± densely spinulose above, apically subgradually narrowing into a subcylindric to subconic 0.9-1.1 mm cone, spinules thin and ± erect; beak ca. 7 mm. Pappus white, ca. 5 mm. Fl. late spring to summer. Agamosperm. 2n = 24.

Mountain pastures and grasslands, along paths; 3000-4300 m. S Xizang [India, Myanmar, Nepal].

Taraxacum mitalii has been mistakenly classified as a member of T. sect. Tibetana, but leaf, outer phyllary, and achene characters point to T. sect. Parvula.