长春蒲公英 chang chun pu gong ying

Herbs 12-20 cm tall. Petiole reddish, narrow; leaf blade mid-green to deep green with a pale green to purplish midvein, ± oblanceolate, 6-15 × 1.3-2.5 cm, sparsely arachnoid, pinnatisect, sometimes divided to very midvein; lateral lobes 3-5, narrowly triangular to linear-triangular, patent to subrecurved, proximal margin minutely dentate or entire, distal margin usually with a few minute teeth near base; interlobes 2-3(-4) mm wide, margin with several acute filiform teeth or lobules; terminal lobe triangular to 3-partite, margin entire or with 1 or 2 teeth at base of basal segments, apex acute. Scapes brownish green, overtopping leaves, arachnoid below capitulum. Capitulum 2-3 cm wide. Involucre 0.9-1.1 cm wide, base rounded. Outer phyllaries (10-)13-16, green or suffused pinkish, ± not imbricate, ovate, outermost ones (6-)7-9 × (2.3-)3.5-4(-5.5) mm and 1/2-3/5 as long as inner ones, appressed, surface with a distinct venation, with an indistinct paler membranous whitish green border to 1 mm wide, margin subglabrous, corniculate near apex; inner phyllaries 1.3-1.4 cm. Ligules yellow; outer ligules outside striped gray; ligule tube pubescent. Stigmas ± yellow. Anthers polliniferous; pollen irregular in size. Achene reddish brown to light red, (3.4-)3.6-4(-4.2) × 0.7-0.9 mm; body spinulose above, subgradually narrowing into a thin cylindric 0.7-0.8 mm cone, spinules ± erect-patent and acute; beak 8-9 mm. Pappus yellowish white, 5-6 mm. Fl. spring. Agamosperm.

● Grasslands; ca. 300 m. Jilin.

The sectional position of Taraxacum junpeianum is rather uncertain. The characters of outer phyllaries point to T. sect. Mongolica, but achene traits are outside the generally accepted limits of the section. In any case, the character combination is unique, and the name cannot be equated with any related taxon of T. sect. Mongolica as was done in FRPS (80(2): 44. 1999).