Scientific Name:
Taraxacum officinale
Pronunciation:
ta-RAKS-uh-kum oh-fiss-ih-NAH-lee
Common Name:
dandelion
Family Name:
Asteraceae
Plant Type:
Herbaceous perennial, Weed (horticultural)
Key ID Features:
Common weed exuding a milky latex when broken; leaves basal, most narrowly oblong-oblanceolate, most 4-40cm long x 1-8cm wide, pinnately lobed with tips arching towards centre of plant; flower heads 4-6cm wide, ray and disk florets yellow, peduncle pale green, thick, fleshy and hollow, most 5-40cm tall; cypsela white, like a furry ball of seeds.
Habit:
Spreading, Upright
Form:
Creeping / Mat-like
Texture:
Medium
Mature Height:
0.1 - 0.2m
Mature Spread:
0.1 - 0.3m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
Europe
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 4: (-34 to -29 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun, Part sun/part shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Rocky or gravelly or dry
Water Use:
Low
Landscape Uses:
Attract beneficial insects, Herb, Medicinal plant, Wildlife food
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Basal
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous, Lustrous
Colour in Fall:
Green
Shapes:
Oblanceolate, Oblong
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Attenuate
Margins:
Dentate, Pinnately lobed
Inflorescence Type:
Head (capitulum), Floriferous
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Corolla Shape:
Ligulate
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Showy, Yellow
Flower Scent:
Sweet
Flower Time at Peak:
Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Oct
Fruit Type:
Cypsela (achene + calyx)
Fruit Colour:
Green-yellow, Brown, Silver
Fruiting Time:
Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Additional Info:
Showy
Bark or Stem Colour:
n/a
Additional Info:
no stem
Organ Modifications:
Storage tap root
Propagation:
Seed
Maintenance:
High
Other:
Cut off plant below crown before seeds form to control spread
Pest Susceptibility:
(Pest resistant, Disease resistant)
Course(s):
- HORT 1155
- Level 2 Apprenticeship
Location(s):
- (BUG) BUG garden
- (WDY) WeeDY location