Dandelion
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Field of dandelions
Individual flowers
Rosette of leaves
Seed clock and sepals
Sun shining through clock
Individual seeds
Taraxacum officinale, Taraxicum agg.
Asteraceae
The peak flowering season is from April to June when
dandelions carpet fields and roadsides.
Flowering is sporadic during the rest of the year, but
some can be found flowering in every month of the year.
It is found throughout the country.
See the BSBI distribution map for Dandelion
They are found in a wide range of disturbed habitats,
e.g., waste ground, pastures, paths, roadside verges,
lawns, sand dunes and grassland.
As gardeners know, dandelions are perenial herbs with
persistent, deep tap-roots.
Flowers are yellow, from 15 to 75mm in diameter, with a
rosette of large leaves.
The lobes of the leaves are supposed to resemble lions'
teeth - hence the name (Blamey et al.2003).
Seeds are spread by the feathery parachutes of the
dandelion clock. Recent research shows that the desigh
of the pappus makes dandelions the best fliers amongst
In the British Isles, there are 229 microspecies of the
genus Taraxacum agg. and they are difficult to tell apart.
The flower stems of dandelions are hollow and exude
a milky juice. We were brought up to believe that the
juice is a micturetic, promoting the desire to urinate,
which is responsible for the name in French, pis-en-lit.
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Field of dandelions
Individual flowers
Rosette of leaves
Seed clock and sepals
Sun shining through clock
Individual seeds
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