Taraxacum cristatum Kirschner, Stepanek & Vasut , Preslia 77: 204. 2005.

Wolanin, Mateusz, Klichowska, Ewelina, Jedrzejczyk, Iwona, Rewers, Monika & Nobis, Marcin, 2023, Taxonomy and distribution of Taraxacum sect. Erythrosperma (Asteraceae) in Poland, PhytoKeys 224, pp. 1-88 : 1

3. Taraxacum cristatum Kirschner, Stepanek & Vasut, Preslia 77: 204. 2005.

Taraxacum cristatum [ T. cristatum Kirschner & Štěpánek, nomen, in Chán et al. 2001: 151 et in Kirschner et al. 2002: 692].

Type.

Slovaciamerid.-orientalis, opp. Rožňava, pagus Krásnohorské Podhradie ( Krasznahorkaváralja): in graminosis siccis prope viam ad ruinam castelli Krásna Hôrka, 1 May 2004, R.J. Vašut, M. Vašutová (holotype in PRA; isotypes in OL, PRC, herbarium R. J. Vašut) .

Description.

Plants usually small, 5-10 cm tall. Leaves (pale) green, almost glabrous, approximately (3-)5-10 cm long and (1-)2-2.5(-3.5) cm wide, usually 4-5 times longer than wide, blades eliptical or oblanceolate, with 3-4 pairs of lateral lobes; lateral lobes mostly opposite; lateral lobes of the inner leaves narrowly triangular, falcate, with a dentate, convex distal margin, proximal margin entire or with a few teeth; lateral lobes of the outer leaves triangular, entire or somewhat denticulate at the distal margin; interlobes narrow and long, undulate or denticulate, often dark maculate; terminal lobe of the inner leaves prolate, lingulate and denticulate at the base; terminal lobe of the outer leaves triangular, prolate, undulate at the base; petioles unwinged, reddish-purple, almost glabrous. Scapes as long as or slightly lon-ger than leaves, almost glabrous or with few barely visible hairs. Capitulum convex, 2-2.5 cm in diameter, yellow, outer strips greyish-brown-purple; inner bracts greyish-green, often suffused with purple at the ends, corniculate; outer bracts usually 9-11, lanceolate, usually 6-8 mm long, 1.5-2 mm broad, pale green, suffused pale red-purple, with a white hyaline margin (0.05-0.1 mm broad), recurved and corniculate; stigmas olive-greyish, pollen present. Achenes purplish-brown, with thin spinules in the upper part, 3.5-4.0 mm long (incl. the 0.8-1.1(-1.3) mm long, narrowly conical pyramid), rostrum 5.5-7.1 mm long, pappus white.

Flowering period.

April (May).

Habitat.

In Bogucin and Grząby Bolmińskie we noted this species on field roads and paths among overgrown calcareous rock grasslands; in Przewodziszowice ( Kraków-Częstochowa Upland) on the sandy dry roadside. In plant communities accompanied by T. cristatum we noted the species characteristic to the Festuco-Brometea, Molinio-Arrhenatheretea, Sedo-Scleranthetea and Trifolio-Geranietea sanguinei classes. In the lar-gest population of this species ( Kraków-Czestochowa Upland, Bogucin place), it grew together with Achillea millefolium , Arrhenatherum elatius , Asperula cynanchica , Carex hirta , C. praecox , C. spicata , Cerastium arvense , C. semidecandrum , Convolvulus arvensis , Coronilla varia , Dianthus carthusianorum , Erysimum odoratum , Euphorbia cyparissias , Festuca rubra , Fragaria vesca , Hypericum perforatum , Knautia arvensis , Libanotis pyrenaica , Lotus corniculatus , Medicago falcata , Phleum phleoides , Pilosella officinarum , Plantago lanceolata , Poa compressa , P. pratensis , Potentilla arenaria , Ranunculus bulbosus , Sanguisorba minor , Scabiosa ochroleuca , Sedum acre , Silene nutans , Thymus pulegioides , Trifolium repens , Veronica chamaedrys , Viola tricolor .

Somatic chromosome number.

24 ( Wolanin and Musiał 2017).

General distribution.

Central European species, reported in Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary ( Vašut et al. 2005).

Distribution in Poland.

Species very rare, found so far in Lesser and Greater Poland (Fig. 10C ).

Specimens examined.

CD40 - Książ Wielkopolski, false acacia forest in N part of town, “Torfica”, 2000, A. Czarna (POZNB); DF05 - Przewodziszowice, dry roadside, 50°38'23"N, 19°23'24"E, 12 April 2016, M. Wolanin (003543, 003580 UR); DF37 - Bogucin Mały, grassland on calcareous rock outcrop, SW exposition, 50°18'29"N, 19°34'16"E, 12 April 2014, M. Wolanin (003292 UR); EE82 - Grząby Bolmińskie, field road, 50°48'46"N, 20°21'44"E, 22 April 2016, M. Wolanin (003305 UR).

Notes.

Species belonging to the Scanicum group, similar to the rest of the species from this group, with an asymmetrically incised terminal lobe. However, compared to T. bellicum and T. scanicum , the terminal lobe in T. cristatum is much more denticulate, as is the distal margin of the side lobes. T. cristatum may sometimes closely resemble T. plumbeum (especially individuals of T. plumbeum growing in extremely dry, rocky habitats), but it differs from it in its purple-brown achenes and lower number of pairs of side lobes (3-4) (Figs 15 , 16 ).

Figures

Figure 10. Distribution maps of Taraxacum sect. Erythrosperma in Poland A T. bellicum B T. brachyglossum C T. cristatum D T. danubium E T. disseminatum F T. dissimile; black square - localities recorded during field studies, black circle - other localities known from herbarium data.

Figure 15. Variation in leaf shape in T. cristatum; locality - Grzaby Bolminskie (M. Wolanin 2016 UR). Scale bar: 5 cm.

Figure 16. Taraxacum cristatum; locality - Grzaby Bolminskie, 2016, photo by M. Wolanin.