Family |
Asteraceae
Taraxacum cf. bithynicum
DC.
Taraxacum cf. bithynicum DC.
Description
Identification status: The Sannine population is provisionally referred to Taraxacum cf. bithynicum. The qualifier cf. indicates resemblance to T. bithynicum DC., not a confirmed identification or an established Lebanese occurrence of that species.
Description of the Lebanese population: Very small plant, approximately 4–7 cm tall, with slender, reddish, sparsely hairy scapes, including hairs below the involucre. Small, deeply divided leaves bear about 2–3 pairs of acute triangular lateral lobes. The small, few-flowered heads were estimated at 15–18 mm across. Ligules are yellow, the outer ones with pinkish to purplish-brown stripes externally; stigmas appear yellow. Outer involucral bracts are few, very short, narrow, appressed to nearly erect, dark green with darker tips and apparently narrow pale margins. Dimensions are approximate estimates from photographs.
Fruit: Mature achenes have not yet been documented for this population. Their morphology, including the achene body, ornamentation, cone, beak and pappus, remains essential to a secure identification.
Mouterde’s historical account: Under T. bithynicum, Mouterde describes a small, very fragile perennial with thin leaves, small heads on slender peduncles and very narrow outer involucral bracts (Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, pp. 524–525). This historical name application must be distinguished from the modern, narrowly circumscribed species.
Flowering and habitat
Historical flowering, habitat & elevation: Mouterde gives June–July, snow hollows and moist alpine sites at 2,000–3,000 m. These data belong to his historical treatment and are not confirmed elevation or phenological data for the present Sannine population.
Distribution
Historical Lebanese localities: Between Dimane and Hasroun, Hasroun, the snowy summits of Makmel at approximately 8,500 feet, and the snowfields on the ridge towards Baalbeck, as cited by Mouterde under his historical T. bithynicum concept.
Recorded location: Sannine.
Native range of T. bithynicum sensu stricto: POWO accepts T. bithynicum DC., first published in Prodr. 7: 149 (1838), and restricts its native range to northwestern Türkiye (Uludağ). The Lebanese population documented here remains unconfirmed.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Modern circumscription. Gürdal et al. (2018) reassessed original material and new collections from Uludağ using morphology, achene micromorphology, chromosomes and nrDNA ITS. They recognized T. bithynicum as a sexual diploid (2n = 16), distinctive in outer involucral bracts and achenes, and endemic to the summit area of Uludağ. Their study also distinguished T. pseudobithynicum, a triploid species from the same mountain. Older broad uses of the name cannot therefore be carried forward as verified records of T. bithynicum sensu stricto.
The historical Lebanese material and T. assemanii. Mouterde’s locality citations appear to correspond to Kotschy 295 and 359 and Blanche material from Hasroun and Dimane associated with the original material of T. assemanii. Boissier’s Flora Orientalis 3: 791 (1875) distinguishes the earlier application of T. bithynicum to such material from de Candolle’s species. Confirmation of these specimen-level correspondences and their relationship to the current typification requires examination of the herbarium material. They support caution about Mouterde’s historical records, not automatic identification of every living Lebanese population as T. assemanii.
The 2021 revision. Kirschner et al. (2021) newly typified T. assemanii and placed it in the new section Pristina, recording it from Lebanon, southeastern Anatolia and the Zagros. Its diagnostic fruits are large and almost or entirely smooth, with an indistinct cone, a gradual transition into a thick, short beak, and a short, slightly brownish pappus. Their revision also separated this concept from the misinterpreted T. primigenium. The problem is one of historical misapplication and identification; T. bithynicum is not thereby made a synonym of T. assemanii.
Provisional identification. The deeply dissected leaves and small, narrow, appressed outer bracts particularly resemble T. bithynicum. General dwarf habit, few-flowered heads and hairy scapes are less decisive because similar features occur in T. assemanii. A morphological resemblance can justify a provisional comparison but cannot establish a substantial range extension beyond Uludağ.
Evidence needed. Reported comparison values for Turkish material are straw-coloured achene bodies about 3.5 × 0.9 mm, sparsely spinulose above, with an approximately 0.5 mm cone, 3.5 mm beak and white pappus 3.5–4 mm long. These reference values require confirmation against the detailed Turkish treatment and authenticated specimens; they are not measurements of the Lebanese plants. Mature fruit from the exact photographed population should be compared directly with authenticated material and the full revisions. Large, nearly smooth achenes with an indistinct cone and thick, short beak would instead favour comparison with T. assemanii. Voucher specimens and specialist examination are needed before confirming the identification. No chromosome count or reproductive mode is inferred for the Lebanese population.
Scope of the conclusion. This entry documents a provisional Sannine identification. It does not confirm T. bithynicum for Lebanon, reassign all of Mouterde’s records, or transfer historical Cretan records to T. assemanii.
Sources:
Mouterde, vol. 3, pp. 524–525; Kew POWO; Gürdal et al. (2018), Phytotaxa 373: 197–210; Kirschner et al. (2021), Phytotaxa 520: 117–136.