Summary ⁵

Taraxacum officinale, more frequently referred to as dandelion or common dandelion, is a flowering herbacious perennial plant well known for its bright yellow flower that transforms into a fuzzy white orb. It grows well in temperate regions in a variety of areas including lawns, roadsides, disturbed banks, waterway shores, etc.

Botanical Information ⁶

This plant starts out as a small green plant and then turns into a yellow flower. Then this plant turns to a puff ball that has seeds, so when wind blows all the seeds blow away and plant more flowers. Something interesting about this plant is that it is really sticky.

Ecological Information ⁷

This plant grows all over the place. The animals that feed off this plant are bees and butterflies.

Ethnobotanical Information ⁷

The dandelion is a wildflower and can be used as a salad green. This plant can be used medicinally. The fresh juice can be applied externally to fight bacteria. This plant also helps wounds get better faster.

Resources ⁸

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/taraxacum-officinale/

https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/taraxacum/officinale/

https://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-dandelion.html

https://altnature.com/gallery/dandelion.htm

http://wildfoodsandmedicines.com/dandelion/

About the Author ⁷

Student author*: Carlos (age 13) and Agustin (age 13) from South Valley Academy

*The entries in this field guide have been edited by Yerba Mansa Project staff to ensure that they contain quality, fact-checked content and standardized formatting.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Dorota (Dorothy), some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/92392149@N00/2446486568
2. (c) Hornbeam Arts, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/hornbeam/33494983474/
3. (c) Radu Chibzii, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/radu_chibzii/47393086851/
4. (c) Dr. Hans-Günter Wagner, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/145400091@N04/34202945545/
5. Adapted by caseynm from a work by (c) smiller33, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
6. Adapted by smiller33 from a work by (c) kristen_himm, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
7. (c) smiller33, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
8. Adapted by Kiley Spurlock from a work by (c) kristen_himm, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• African Plants - a photo guide
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Calflora
• CalPhotos
• Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
• eFloras.org
• Flora Digital de Portugal
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
• OregonFlora.org
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム
• 植物和名−学名インデックス YList

Range Map

(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

iNat Map