Taraxacum aquilonare Handel-Mazzetti, 1911

Kirschner, Jan & Štěpánek, Jan, 2023, A taxonomic revision of Taraxacum sect. Dissecta, a continental steppe group common in Siberia and adjacent regions of Central Asia, Phytotaxa 590 (1), pp. 1921-1935 : 1921-1935

29. Taraxacum aquilonare Handel-Mazzetti in Dalla-Torre & Sarnthein (1912: 687)

Type:—[ ITALY, Trentino-Alto Adige] Tirol, Brenner, Gossensass, ca. 1000 m, Jun 1882, [R.] Huter (W 27642, no. det. 1111, lectotype, fide Kirschner & Štěpánek (1985: 119); identified as T. hoppeanum by Handel-Mazzetti, then revised as T. aquilonare by HandelMazzetti; confirmed by J. L. van Soest in 1967).

Etymology:—Northern.

Illustration:— Kirschner & Štěpánek (1985: 119, Fig. 4 ).

Plants small, up to 10–13 cm tall. Petiole winged or narrowly winged in outer leaves, narrow, unwinged in the inner ones, sparsely arachnoid, brownish pink; plant base with tunic, yellowish arachnoid among petiole bases. Leaves greyish mid-green, sparsely arachnoid, narrowly oblong to narrowly oblanceolate in outline, usually (3.5–) 4–5 (–10) × (1.0–) 1.5–2.0 (–3.0) cm; lateral segments in 3–4 pairs, most often patent, sometimes hamate-recurved, margins rarely entire, usually with unequal, ± numerous acute teeth; terminal segment ± small, short, broadly triangular to ± trilobed, apex subacute, distal margins usually with sparse little teeth or shallow small incisions; interlobes short (longer proximally), with unequal teeth and acute lobules; mid-vein usually greenish. Scapes ± densely arachnoid, light brownish green, sometimes suffused purplish, equalling or ± overtopping leaves. Capitulum yellow, 1.5–2.5 cm wide. Involucre greyish olivaceous-green, ca. 8–9 mm wide and rounded at base. Outer phyllaries 11–17, appressed, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, (4.0–) 4.8–5.3 (–5.5) × (1.5–) 2.0–2.7 (–3.2) mm, ± acuminate, with a dark or blackish olivaceous-green middle strip ca. 1.0 mm wide, with a gradual transition in a pale greyish olivaceous zone usually 0.6–0.8 mm wide, including a whitish border ca. 0.2 mm wide (later phyllaries sometimes darken and the paler zone is confined to the narrow white border), margin sparsely ciliate, apex flat to callose. Outer ligules flat, striped deep grey-pink outside. Stigmas yellowish green. Pollen absent. Achenes medium deep to dark red-brown, usually (4.2–) 4.5–5.0 × 0.8–0.9 mm, body ± sparsely shortly spinulose in upper 1/3, gradually narrowing in a cylindrical cone 0.9–1.3 mm long; beak 8–10 mm long; pappus yellowish white, 5–5.5 mm long. – Agamosperm, tetraploid (2n=32, det. H. Dvořáková under no. 9/99; another count published by Fürnkranz, 1965: 2 n=24, voucher specimen not seen). – Fig. 34 .

Diagnostic notes:— Taraxacum aquilonare , when compared with the members of T. sect. Dissecta , is distinct in having a unique colour pattern of the abaxial surface of outer phyllaries, with gradual transitions between the dark middle strip and the paler greyish olivaceous-green zone; the whitish narrow border is delimited sharply. Variously deep red-brown achenes with a very gradual body/cone transition, sparse spinulosity and cylindrical, relatively long cone are diagnostic, too. In addition, T. confusaneum , a closely similar species, has some outer phyllaries erect-patent (others loosely appressed to ± appressed).

Distribution and habitat:—The geographical range of T. aquilonare is confined to the slopes of inner Alpine valleys, usually between 1000–2000 m, and its localities are situated in Austria, Italy (the most numerous records), Switzerland and France. Many localities were listed in Kirschner & Štěpánek (1985: 113, a map on Fig. 1 ; 120), and we give only selected additions below.

Specimens examined:— ITALY. [Trentino-Alto Adige] Gossensass, cultivated in Vienna Botanical Garden from achenes collected by H. Handel-Mazzetti in 1906, 21 May 1909, H. Handel-Mazzetti ( WU 70026 !); Ibidem , May 1907 ( WU 70027 !). – [Trentino-Alto Adige] Tirol , Gossensass , ̂stl. des Aussichtspavillons , 1000 m, 28 May 1906, H. Handel-Mazzetti ( WU 70017 !). – Gossensass, am Fusse einer senkrechten Felswand, 1000 m, 28 May 1906, H. Handel-Mazzetti ( WU 70020 !); Ibidem, 1100 m, 8 May 1904, H. Handel-Mazzetti ( WU 70028 !, WU 70015!). – [Friuli-Venezia Giulia] Süd-Tirol, unweit der Alpenhütte von Gross-Fanes am Weg zum Col Lodgia (zw. Ampezzo u. Enneberg), 2110 m, 17 Jul 1906, H. Handel-Mazzetti ( WU 70016 !) . – FRANCE. Savoie, Grenoble, Mt. Cenis Massif , Lac du Mt. Cenis , 2300–2400 m, 1 Aug 1996, J. Štěpánek & J. Štěpánková ( PRA, no. det. 33092) . – AUSTRIA. Nordtirol, Nesselwängle, Rote Flüh , below Grosser Überhang , 1880 m, 10.610101 47.498578 N, E, 20 Jun 2019, M. Falch, P. Schönswetter et al. ( IB 107506 , no. det. 34232). – Nordtirol, Pfunds, Stuben, Stubental, from Stuben to Weiler „Wand“, 1159 m, 46.972324 N, 10.534280 E, 4 Jun 2019, M. Falch ( IB 107356 , no. det. 34234). – “Am Eisackfall ober Brennerbad”, 20 May 1955, sine coll. ( IB 34613 , no. det. 34230) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. A comparison between T. sect. Dissecta, T. sect. Erythrosperma (A) and T. sect. Suavia (B). Abbreviations used: A, abscissa: TA—tightly appressed,LA—loosely appressed,E/EP—erect toerect-patent,P—patent,AR—arcuate-recurved,RE—reflexed.A, ordinate: BOV—broadly ovate, OV—ovate, OVLA—ovate-lanceolate, LA—lanceolate, NLA—narrowly lanceolate, LILA—linear-lanceolate. B: A—abrupt, SA—subabrupt, SG—subgradual, G—gradual. The achene size includes cone.

FIGURE 4. Taraxacum amgense. A, Achene (LE, no. det. 6054, holotype). B, C, Details of flower heads and involucre (B, MW, no. det. 20482, scale bar = 1 mm; C, LE, no. det. 6137).

FIGURE 34. Taraxacum aquilonare. A, general habit (WU 0070017); B, a detail of capitulum; C, general habit (both WU 0070026). Scale bars: A = 1 cm; B = 5 mm; C = 2 cm.