Taraxacum officinale

Taraxacum officinale
Common dandelion[1]

Secure  (NatureServe)[3]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Taraxacum
Species:
T. officinale
Binomial name
Taraxacum officinale
Synonyms[4][5]
  • Crepis taraxacum (L.) Stokes
  • Leontodon taraxacum L.
  • Leontodon vulgare Lam.
  • Taraxacum campylodes G.E.Haglund
  • Taraxacum dens-leonis Desf.
  • Taraxacum mexicanum DC.
  • Taraxacum retroflexum Lindl.
  • Taraxacum subspathulatum A.J. Richards
  • Taraxacum sylvanicum R. Doll
  • Taraxacum taraxacum (L.) H. Karst.
  • Taraxacum tenejapense A.J. Richards
  • Taraxacum vulgare Schrank

Taraxacum officinale, the dandelion or common dandelion,[6] is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The common dandelion is well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of many silver-tufted fruits that disperse in the wind. These balls are called "clocks" in both British and American English.[7][8][9][10] The name "blowball" is also used.[11]

The common dandelion grows in temperate regions of the world in areas with moist soils. They are very hardy plants, able to grow in a variety of environments, and are tolerant of crowding, extremes of temperature, and low moisture.[12] As a result of this hardiness, in addition to its ability to rapidly propagate itself, the dandelion has become established over a wide range via human activity, originally being native to Eurasia, but can also be found across the Americas, southern Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand as a result of incidental or deliberate introductions.

It is most often considered a weed, especially in lawns and along roadsides, but the leaves, flowers, and roots are sometimes used as food and in herbal medicine.

  1. ^ 1897 illustration from Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
  2. ^ "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Taraxacum officinale". 5 April 2013.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NatureServe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Tropicos - Name - !Taraxacum officinale F.H. Wigg". tropicos.org.
  5. ^ "Taraxacum campylodes G.E.Haglund — The Plant List". theplantlist.org.
  6. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Taraxacum officinale​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Definition of "blowball" - Collins English Dictionary". collinsdictionary.com.
  8. ^ "blowball: meaning and definitions". infoplease.com.
  9. ^ "dandelion clock - Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online". Ldoceonline.com. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  10. ^ "Clock dictionary definition - clock defined". yourdictionary.com.
  11. ^ "blowball". TheFreeDictionary.com.
  12. ^ "Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale". Wisconsin Horticulture. Retrieved 2023-10-02.