Taraxacum ericinoides

Leaves broad-lanceolate 23–32 cm long, 3.5–8 cm wide, green, glabrous; lateral lobes in 3–4 pairs, broadly deltoid with down-turned apices; distal margins plane to denticulate, proximal margins plane, not incised to the midrib, thus with broad interlobe areas which often have a pair of acute lobules; terminal lobe trilobed, the middle one often reduced to a mucro, the margins predominantly plane; petiole striated purple on green, winged, midrib striated basally grading to green distally. Scapes 17–35 cm at anthesis, 45–54 cm in fruit, white-woolly in bud, becoming glabrous at maturity except under the capitulum, purple. Capitulum 3–4 cm diam. Outer involucral bracts broad lanceolate, 9–11 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, patent to recurved, narrowly but clearly white-bordered, apices dark not callosed; innermost involucral bracts linear-lanceolate 10–11 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, not callosed. Outer florets with a flat ligule exceeding the involucre by 5 mm; anthers with pollen; stigmas greenish yellow. Achenes fusiform to turbinate c. 3.5 mm long, 1 mm wide with straight spines less than 0.3 mm at the apex, verrucate to the base, light brown; cone cylindrical 0.5–0.6 mm long; beak 12–16 mm long. Pappus 5–6 mm long. Flowers and fruits Sept.–Apr.