Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
Asteraceae
Edible and medicinal uses are reported for Dandelion.
Dandelion is a widespread weed of lawns, roadsides, wasteland, orchards, cultivation and pastures. Dandelion is a perennial herb, forming a basal rosette. Leaves are toothed to runcinate-pinnatifid (sharply incised lobes or teeth pointing towards the base and lobed). Leaves are hairless or sparsely hairy. Flowering stalks are 5–35 cm long and hollow, with flowers golden yellow and 10-20mm in diameter. Dandelion forms vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal associations (Glomus mosseae, G. intraradices and Pythium ultimum). It can grow in a range of soil types, with a pH range of 4.2 - 8.2, and can tolerate moderate salinity. Dandelion is reported to have a deep root system, with roots up to 1 metre long. The white coloured sap produced by dandelion is reported to cause a reaction in some people. It also has allelopathic properties that can reduce germination and growth of other plant species. Plants are capable of producing large amounts of seed per plant. Dispersal is mostly via wind, although seed can be spread by animals, machinery and people.
A range of insects are known to visit dandelion flowers, including various bee and fly species. Dandelion is eaten by a range of herbivores throughout the world. Hosts include Tomato ring spot virus, Tomato spotted wilt virus, Cucumber mosaic cucumovirus, Beet western yellows virus, Beet pseudo-yellows virus, Lettuce mosaic virus, Dandelion yellow mosaic virus, Lettuce pseudoyellows virus, Cherry rasp leaf virus, Pseudomonas viridiflava, Boll weevils, Cabbage looper, Yellow-striped armyworm, Green peach aphid, larvae of the apple moth (Lacanobia subjuncta) (Cabi). Other organisms known to attack/feed on dandelion include wasps, midges, mites, aphids, weevils, caterpillars, beetles, leafhoppers, slugs, snails and nematodes (Cabi). Organisms reported by Discover Life include Uredo flosculosorum & U. hieracii, Aecidium taraxaci (rust), Colletotrichum dematium (anthracnose), Synchytrium taraxaci, Various types of rusts: Puccinia dioicae, P. flosculosorum, P. hieracii, P. prenanthis, P. silvatica, P. silvaticella, P. taraxaci and Puccinia variabilis