Taraxacum palmeri, a new species of section Spectabilia from the North Atlantic (Asteraceae)

Abstract

A new species of Taraxacum section Spectabilia is described from Shetland and the Faeroe Islands. Taraxacum palmeri Walter Scott & T.C.G. Rich is characterised by the 2-lobed or sometimes ±unlobed leaves with sparse, pale brown spots and few teeth, the leaf lobes strongly convex on the distal margins, the oblong-lanceolate outer bracts with ciliate distal margins, the large, deep yellow capitula, the pale to dark greyish-purple striped ligules, and sparse pollen.

Keywords:

• Dandelion
• Faeroe Islands
• Shetland
• Vice county 112

We would like to thank E. Guðjohnsen, H. Kristinsson, D. Malcolm, H. Øllgaard, H. Pedersen, D. Price, A. J. Richards, L. Roberts, and the Keepers of the Herbaria for access to collections.

Work in Copenhagen was supported by a grant from the European Commission’s (FP 6) Integrated Infrastructure Initiative programme SYNTHESIS (DK-TAF).