Taraxacum officinale (dandelion)

As most British dandelions produce fruit without being fertilised (they are apomictic), substantial problems arise with the taxonomy of these plants. This group is a complex consisting of around 200 microspecies, and is typically treated as a species aggregate, denoted as Taraxacum officinale agg. In reality, the specimen that was used to describe the species first of all has turned out to be a microspecies restricted to Lapland, and it is not the same as the plants seen in grassland, lawns and along path edges in Britain. Trying to identify the microspecies has turned into a science of its own, with the experts termed ‘taraxacologists’!

The dandelion is a perennial plant, and flowers throughout the year. Dandelions have deep taproots, and the whole plant contains a milky fluid known as latex. The flowerheads close at night, and can produce around 2,000 wind-dispersed fruits. Plants can also regenerate from pieces of the taproot.

The dandelion is so successful at colonising abandoned areas of the garden that no help is really needed to grow it. The plentiful one-seeded fruits are carried on the wind and can travel relatively long distances so neglecting a garden will usually ensure that this plant appears. Removing it is more difficult, as the long, thick taproots will delve down deeply into a border or lawn and even in cracks in paving, making them hard to remove completely. Chopping off the top of the plant is not enough to kill it as it will sprout again from the remaining roots. Rabbits love the leaves so if you have one as a pet it may appreciate a patch of dandelions being allowed to grow in a corner of the garden. The flowers and fruiting heads are attractive but this plant can soon take over and, because it is so strongly associated with a poorly kept garden, deliberate cultivation is rare.