Taraxacum pieninicum
Taraxacum pieninicum Pawł.
Taraxacum pieninicum, a member of the Asteraceae family, is a small to medium-sized plant native to limestone cliffs and rocky slopes in Slovakia and Poland. It is characterized by narrow, lanceolate to narrowly triangular outer phyllaries and pure yellow stigmas. The species is distinct from T. striatifolium, which has dark stigmas and shorter achenes. Previously thought to be extinct, T. pieninicum was rediscovered and is now recognized as morphologically and biologically identical to T. erythrocarpum, with which it is now considered a synonym. The species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) globally and Endangered (EN) in Poland.
Description
Taraxacum pieninicum is a small to medium-sized dandelion species, typically 10–15 cm tall, with a narrowly winged petiole and a tunic at the plant base. Its leaves are greyish green, sparsely arachnoid to subglabrous, and ± oblanceolate in shape, with a broadly triangular terminal segment. The outer phyllaries are 16–19 in number, narrow, lanceolate to narrowly triangular, and arcuate-recurved. The species occurs on limestone cliffs and rocky slopes at medium elevations in Slovakia and Poland. It was previously considered extinct but was rediscovered in the Pieniny Mts. Morphological and biological studies confirmed its identity with T. erythrocarpum, and the two names are now treated as synonyms. The IUCN conservation status is VU, with an EN status in Poland.
Distribution
Poland · Slovakia · Czechoslovakia
Synonyms
Taraxacum hoppeanum subsp. pieninicumTaraxacum erythrocarpum
