Summary ⁴

Taraxacum officinale, called the common dandelion is a common flowering perennial plant in the aster family. Dandelions are native to Europe and Asia but are now common throughout the world. Dandelions are mostly seen as lawn weeds but will occasionally be found in forests and prairies.

Similar Species ⁴

Goat's beard is also a yellow-flowered nonnative weed in the aster family which creates a dandelion-like ball of fluff when its seeds are ripe. Goats beard is generally much larger than dandelions, however, with the fluffy seedhead twice as large as that of a dandelion.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) The Preserve at Shaker Village, all rights reserved, uploaded by The Preserve at Shaker Village
2. (c) Björn Podßuweit, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/nextnexus/5612501937/
3. (c) Ian Sutton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/22616984@N07/8540513955/
4. (c) The Preserve at Shaker Village, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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