Taraxacum pseudobithynicum B.Gürdal, Štěpánek, Zeisek, Kirschner & N. Özhatay, 2018

Gürdal, Bahar, Štěpánek, Jan, Zeisek, Vojtěch, Kirschner, Jan & Özhatay, Neriman, 2018, What is and what is not Taraxacum bithynicum (Compositae, Crepidinae), Phytotaxa 373 (3), pp. 197-210 : 206-208

Taraxacum pseudobithynicum B.Gürdal, Štěpánek, Zeisek, Kirschner & N. Özhatay , sp. nov. ( Figures 5C, 5D , 6B ,

7, 8-1 .)

Type:— TURKEY. A2(A) Bursa, Uludağ, Volfram çevresi, 2176 m, 11 Aug 2014, B. Gürdal 835-16, M. Koçyiğit (holotype: ISTE 102911).

Diagnosis:— Plantae parvae oreophyticae, habitu et acheniis forma cum Taraxaco bithynici optime congruentes sed foliis saturate viridibus pinnatisectis, lobis lateralibus triangulari-deltoideis vel falcatis, phyllariis exterioribus adpressis ovatis usque ad lanceolatis, atroviridibus, marginibus conspicuis pallidis 0.2–0.3 mm latis, ecorniculatis, stigmatibus viridescentibus, antheris polliniferis, acheniis longioribus breviter spinulosis, in pyramidem cylindricam vel subcylindricam subsensim abeuntibus.

Plants small, usually 6–10 cm tall. Root head with several paucifoliate rosettes, tunic absent, plant base with medium dense brownish hairs. Leaves variously erect-patent, usually 4–7 × 1–1.5 cm, deep green to darker green, sparsely arachnoid, mainly on mid-vein abaxially; leaf blade narrowly oblanceolate in outline, distinctly pinnatisect with bigger terminal lobe and relatively small lateral ones; terminal lobe helmet-shaped in outline, 1–1.8 × 0.7–1.2 cm, obtusely subacute to acute, with distal margins convex to subsigmoid, entire or with 1–2 acute teeth, often also with 1–2 ± deep incisions, basal lobules recurved, acute, proximal margins subconcave, entire; lateral lobes 2–5 pairs, deltoidtriangular to sickle-shaped, sometimes of a bird-wing shape, recurved with patent proximal part, acute, usually 3–7 × 3–5 mm, entire or with a single tooth, proximal margin straight or slightly concave, usually entire; interlobes long and narrow, usually 3–6 × 1–2 mm, with raised and brown-purple coloured margins, usually with (1)2 short acute teeth, rarely several unequal teeth; mid-vein pale or brownish-pinkish; petioles narrow to narrowly winged, broadly so at the very base, faintly greyish purplish. Scape subequalling leaves, relatively densely arachnoid (particularly below capitulum), purplish at base or later almost entirely purplish. Capitulum ca. 3 cm in diameter, flat, yellow; outer ligules flat, striped dark purplish grey-olivaceous outside, apical teeth black-purple, inner ligules canaliculate, with apical teeth deep yellow. Involucre rounded to subtruncate, ca. 4–5 mm wide at base; outer phyllaries 10–13, tightly appressed, some with erect tips, outer of them ovate, short, reaching 1/3–2/5 of the length of inner phyllaries, ca. 4 × 2.5–3 mm, the others longer, lanceolate, to 8 mm long, relatively dark, dark olivaceous green (to almost black-green when dry), the middle dark part with abrupt transition into distinct, paler to whitish border 0.2–0.3 mm wide, suffused pinkish in upper ½, flat and black-purple below apex, margins subglabrous to ciliate, inner phyllaries 10–12, light olivaceous, ca. 10 mm long, of equal width. Stigmas light greenish/greyish yellow, outside with pubescence of short black-tipped hairs. Pollen abundantly present, variable in size (14–32 μm). Achenes medium greyish straw-brown, relatively slender, 4.4–4.9 × 0.9–1.0 mm, with short spinules in upper ¼, otherwise almost smooth, subgradually narrowing into cylindrical to subcylindrical cone 0.7–1.0 mm long, often with a few spinules at base, beak (4–) 5.5–7 mm long, thin, pappus 5–5.5 mm, pure white.—Agamosperm—Fl. July–August.

Chromosome number: —Agamosperm. Triploid (2n = 24), see Fig. 5 , det. B. Gürdal sub no. sit-19, 20 (ISTE 102911, no. det. 31327; 102912, no. det. 31336), also JŠ sub no. 29/99.

Habitat and distribution: —The new species, T.pseudobithynicum ,is currently known only from one macrolocality on Mt. Uludağ. It grows on high mountain steppe and around Tungsten Mine at an elevation of 2100–2200 m, whilst T. bithynicum grows above 2000 m on snowbed slopes, alpine stony and rocky sites but generally more sheltered places. The two species are not in contact in the summit area.

Additional specimens examined: — TURKEY. A2 ( A) Bursa: Uludağ, Volfram çevresi, 11 Aug 2014, 2181 m, B. Gürdal 833-16, M. Koçyiğit ( ISTE 102909 ) ; Turcia boreo-occidentalis, distr. Bursa, montes Uludağ, sub monte Uludağ, 2000–2200 m s.m., 12 Sep 1996, L. Klimeš, cultivated as JŠ 6061 ( PRA, no. det. 31334) ; Turkey, prov. Bursa: Uludağ, Volfram, 11 Aug 2014, B. Gürdal 833 ( ISTE 102909 , no. det. 31338) ; B. Gürdal 836 ( ISTE 102912 , no. det. 31336) ; B. Gürdal 835 ( ISTE 102911 , no. det. 31327) .

Figures

FIGURE 5. Taraxacum bithynicum, 2n=16. A, somatic chromosomes (with line contours added); B, karyotype (ISTE 107391). T. pseudobithynicum, 2n=24. C, somatic chromosomes; D, karyotype (ISTE 102911).

FIGURE 6. SEM micrographs of achenes. A, T. bithynicum (ISTE 107391); B, T. pseudobithynicum (PRA, no. det. 31334). Scale bar equals 1 mm.

FIGURE 8. Taraxacum pseudobithynicum. 1, general habit; 1a, achene; 1b, 1c, outer phyllaries. T. bithynicum. 2, general habit; 2a, 2b, outer phyllaries; 2c, achene. Scale bars for a, b, c = 1mm; scale bar for general habit drawings = 5 cm. Del. J. Štěpánek.