Taraxacum metriocallosum van Soest (1969: 121)

Štěpánek, Jan & Kirschner, Jan, 2022, A hotspot of endemism: Oreophytic Taraxacum species (Compositae, Crepidinae) in the mountains of Bulgaria, Phytotaxa 569 (1), pp. 1-139 : 13

Taraxacum metriocallosum van Soest (1969: 121)

Type:— L 2568 !, holotype (herb. van Soest 42175)

Doll (1978: 642):—“Wir fanden diese Sippe mehrfach. U. E. eine im Rila-Gebirge nicht seltene Klein-Art.“

Herbarium voucher specimens:—There are two rich gatherings under the name of T. metriocallosum , each divided and preserved on several herbarium sheets. The first gathering is labelled “Flora von Bulgarien, Rila-Gebirge, Musalla-Hütte, ca. 2000-2400 m, 12 Jul [19]76, R. Doll [as Taraxacum metriocallosum ]” ( JE, no. det. 19255) and divided into four sheets. Sheet I: a single plant, with a few achenes in a separate envelope. Sheet II: Four plants in fruit. Sheet III: Six plants, three with regular pollen. Sheet IV: Six plants, in flower and with achenes (two with irregular pollen, one with regular pollen). – The second gathering (on two sheets) bears a label with the following text: Flora von Bulgarien, Rila-Gebirge, Malowitza-Hütte, Bachrand – Wegrand, 16 Jul [19]76, R. Doll [as Taraxacum metriocallosum ] ( JE, no. det. 19256). The material is characterized by a regular pollen and belongs to T. paludosiforme .

Interpretation:—The gatherings are a mixture of (at least) two taxa, T. paludosiforme (present on several herbarium sheets) and a species of the group of T. pirinicum (on one of the sheets). Taraxacum metriocallosum is characterized by conspicuously and densely dentate leaf lobes and different posture of outer phyllaries, and substantially differs from the Bulgarian plants.