DANDELION

Dandelion needs no introduction to most gardeners and wins little praise from growers of lawns, although children love its dry, white seed heads. There are cultivated varieties with quite large, as well as and small, frizzy leaves.
It may be worth noting that the flower stalks are single and hollow, because it can be confused with a look-alike weed (cat's ear, Hypochoeris radiata) whose slightly furry leaves are less sharply serrated and whose taste is less appealing.

Plant Names
Botanical Family: 
ASTERACEAE
Common Name: 
DANDELION
Genus: 
Taraxacum
Species: 
officinale
About the Name: 

from the Arabic tarasacon for "bitter herb" and officinale, Latin for the "apothecary's shop".

Origins: 

Native of Europe and Asia. It is a perennial and called the "pissenlit" (wee-in-bed) in France, because of its diuretic effect. The English name derives from the French "dent de lion", or lion's tooth, referring to its leaf shape.

Plant Description: 

Dandelion needs no introduction to most gardeners and wins little praise from growers of lawns, although children love its dry, white seed heads. There are cultivated varieties with quite large, as well as and small, frizzy leaves.
It may be worth noting that the flower stalks are single and hollow, because it can be confused with a look-alike weed (cat's ear, Hypochoeris radiata) whose slightly furry leaves are less sharply serrated and whose taste is less appealing.

Variety Notes: 

Mauser's Trieb was bred to be blanched indoors in the way that witloof is made from chicory. Cabbaging, Full Heart, Giant Erect and Moss, (which has delicate teeth that resemble the finest curled endive), are all to be found in old catalogues, but few are still on sale. If no cultivated varieties are available, choose a good looking wild one and improve it with selection over the years.

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