Taraxacum arcticum

Taraxacum arcticum
File:Taraxacum arcticum (Longyearbyen).JPG
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Taraxacum
Species:	T. arcticum
Binomial name
Taraxacum arcticum Dahlst.
Synonyms
Taraxacum arcticum f. albiflorum Dahlst.

Taraxacum arcticum, the arctic dandelion, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Asteraceae. Its native range is Greenland, Northern Europe, Northern Asia and the Northern Russian Far East.

Distribution and habitat

Taraxacum arcticum mainly occurs in the arctic regions of northern Europe and Asia. Its range extends from northern Greenland and Svalbard to the Chukchi Peninsula in northeastern Siberia. It grows in damp meadows and on heaths, on level or sloping land, often in positions with early snow protection or enriched with bird droppings. It grows in acid, neutral or alkaline soils.

Reproduction

In general, Taraxacum sets seed whether or not the flowers have been pollinated. In some species the pollen appears ripe and yellow, and in others it is green or blackish-green, but in both types, the pollen appears to be non-functional. In the case of the boreal and arctic species, only Taraxacum holmenianum is suspected of pollination; while T. arcticum is among the species that are thought not to rely on it, but the plant flowers prolifically and produces plenty of viable seed, which is widely dispersed by the wind. There is also limited local dispersal by fragmentation of the fleshy roots.