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Weed Identification

common dandelion

Family

Asteraceae

Scientific Name

Taraxacum officinale

Synonyms (former Scientific Names):

Taraxacum vulgare

Habit

Germinates or sprouts year round but mainly in fall and spring. Major flower production starts in spring and may last all summer and into fall.

Leaves

May have several shapes but usually have pointed jagged edges and typically lack hairs. When leaves are cut, milky sap exudes from the cut surface.

Identifying Characteristics

All plant parts have milky sap. Enlarged taproot on mature plants.

Flower Seed Head

Yellow flowers with numerous petals attached to slender stalks. Flowers soon turn to white puffy balls of seed. A bare knobby stalk often remains when seed are blown away.

Seed Fruit

Seed are light brown and have jagged edges. Each seed is attached to a slender stalk that contains a tuft of hairs on the opposite end.

Where Found

Lawns, waste places, pastures, fields, and roadsides. Tolerates mowing.

Growth Habit

prostrate and nonwoody

Thorns or Spines

not present

Approximate Flower Diameter

Varies: 
quarter
half dollar

Dominant Flower Color

Varies: 
yellow
orange

Flower Symmetry

radial symmetery

Leaf Hairs

Varies: 
has hairs
no hairs

Leaf Shape

lance

Leaf Arrangement

rosette

Leaf Margin

Varies: 
lobed
serrated

Leaf Structure

simple

Leaf Stalk

Varies: 
none
shorter than leaf
longer than leaf

Stem Hairs

no hairs

Stem Cross Section

round or oval

Milky Sap

present

Root Structure

Varies: 
fibrous
taproot

Life Cycle

perennial

Ochrea

not present

Plant Type

Herb