全叶蒲公英 quan ye pu gong ying

Taraxacum oblanceifolium D. Z. Ma.

Herbs 4-10(-15) cm tall. Petiole purplish to greenish, narrow; leaf blade ± light green to slightly grayish green, linear to linear-oblanceolate, 4-8(-11) × 0.5-0.9 cm, ± glabrous, margin usually deeply lobed to dissected but sometimes entire; lateral lobes 3-7 pairs, linear, linear-triangular, or narrowly triangular, ± recurved; interlobes short, margin entire; terminal lobe elongated, narrow, apex ± acute. Scapes brownish green, ± equaling leaves, ± sparsely arachnoid and densely so below capitulum. Capitulum 1.5-2.5 cm wide. Involucre 5.5-7.5 mm wide, base subconic. Outer phyllaries 12-15, light green with darker tips, ± imbricate, outermost ones ovate and 3.5-5.5 × 1.7-3 mm, middle ones ovate-lanceolate, ca. 6.5 × 2.5 mm, and ca. 1/2 as long as inner ones, appressed, with a membranous to whitish 0.5-1 mm wide border, margin glabrous, apex ± flat; inner phyllaries 0.9-1.2 cm, apex callose to flat. Ligules yellow; outer ligules canaliculate to involute, sometimes ± flat, outside striped pinkish gray to grayish purple; inner ligules often subtubular or cucullate, with dirty yellow apical teeth. Stigmas yellow to pale grayish yellow. Anthers polliniferous; pollen grains irregular in size. Achene light grayish, 4-4.7 × 1-1.1 mm; body ± sparsely spinulose above, gradually narrowing into a ± subconic (0.8-)1-1.3 × 0.5-0.6 mm cone, spinules short with some coarse; beak 2-3 × 0.2-0.3 mm. Pappus whitish, 5-6 mm. Fl. spring to summer. Agamosperm. 2n = 24.

Saline areas, temporarily wet to wet pastures and grasslands, substeppe areas; 1500-2800 m. Hebei, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang [Afghanistan, India, Mongolia, Tajikistan].

In areas adjacent to China Taraxacum armeriifolium reaches an elevation of ca. 4800 m.