A review of Taraxacum (Asteraceae) in eastern Finland (Ladoga Karelia and North Karelia)

Little is known about changes in the abundance and species composition of dandelions (Taraxacum) in Finland. However, Eastern Finland, the biogeographical provinces of Karelia ladogensis and Karelia borealis, has been explored again since 1985. Carl-Erik Sonck collected dandelions there mainly in the 1940s and published his results later (Sonch 1964a). The comparison revealed that changes were considerable over this 60-year period. Species of the section Taraxacum had become more frequent, while those of the sections Borea and Erythrosperma had declined. After Sonck, 88 species were found to be new to North Karelia and 24 to Ladoga Karelia. Respectively, 16 and 33 species were not re-discovered in these provinces. The figures are approximate, particularly concerning Karelia ladogensis, because a larger part of this province has not been studied since 1945 when most of its territory was ceded to the former Soviet Union