Species

Taraxacum officinale agg.

Etymology

Taraxacum: bitter pot-herb
officinale: From the Latin officina shortened from opificina which originally meant 'workshop' but later came to mean a monastic storeroom, herb-room or pharmacy. Refers to the plant's medicinal value.

Common Name(s)

dandelion

Family

Asteraceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

TAROFF

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs - Composites

Habitat

A very common herb of grassland, cultivated ground, and lawns.

Features

Dandelion typically forms a prostrate to mounding rosette, and usually wider than tall. Foliage is dark green, deeply lobed, and hairless. Each flower head is composed of many small yellow ray flowers. Seed are attached to a pappus which facilitates wind dispersal.

Flower Colours

Yellow

Year Naturalised

1852

Origin

Europe

This page last updated on 18 Jan 2010