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Dandelion

Taraxacum

Also called Composite, Daisy Family, Aster Family, Composite Family, Thistle Family, Sunflowers, Sunflower Family

Dandelion
Photo: Greg Hume, CC BY-SA 3.0

Taraxacum is a genus of hardy perennial herbs, best known from common dandelion (T. officinale), grown or tolerated in lawns and gardens. They are easy to grow in sun and almost any soil, and are often treated as weeds.

Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water during dry spells; established plants tolerate drought well.
Soil
Any well-drained soil, tolerates poor and compacted ground.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; grows in temperate climates, tolerates frost well.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts

About

Taraxacum () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribution, absent only from tropical and polar areas. Two of the most common species worldwide, T. officinale (the common dandelion) and T. erythrospermum (the red-seeded dandelion), are European species introduced into North America, where they are non native. Dandelions thrive in temperate regions and can be found in yards, gardens, sides of roads, among crops, and in many other habitats.

Like other members of the family Asteraceae, they have very small flowers collected together into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a floret.

Other Taraxacum plants

Japanese dandelion · Taraxacum farinosum · Taraxacum mirabile · Mongolian Dandelion · Common dandelion

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Taraxacum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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