Table of Contents
- Higher Taxa
- Identification Guide
- Geography
- Natural History
- References
There many common names for the Taraxacum officinale. They are Dandelion, Cankerwort, Blowball,
Doon-head-clock, fortune teller, horse gowan, Irish Daisy, yellow gowan,
and one-o'clock (Sievers 1930).
The Taraxacum officinale is a wildflower that is well known in the United States. T. officinale was first
identified by G.H Weber (1752-1828). G.H Weber was a profesor at Univ. Kiel, and a student of his named Friedrich Wiggers
published articles on the T. officinale that are credited to Weber. The description was published in Wigger's Primitiae florae holsaticae. The dandelion has dark green, hairless, toothed leaves that have prominent veins and grow directly from the tap root (Burch 1997).
The flower is a bright, golden yellow. It has single, golden yellow flowers on a straight, leafless hollow stem emerging from the center. (Parmenter 1994).
When the flowers mature, they pruduce white seeds which are easily dispersed in the wind. The stalk of the plant contains a milky white liquid that
is excreted when broken open. It gets one of its common names (Dandelion) from the branched leeaves that look like the teeth of lions. Natural History
References:
Geography
Quercus nigra L.
AREA STATUS REFERENCES
North America:
Continental United States; CanadaYes
Sievers 1930
Eastern North America:
United States east of Mississippi;
Ontario and eastern CanadaYes Sievers 1930
Southeastern United States:
AL AR DE DC FL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WVYes Sievers 1930
Southern Appalachian States:
AL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WVYes Sievers 1930
Coastal Plain Widespread Radford, Ahles & Bell, 1968;
Jones & Coile, 1988
Piedmont Widespread Radford, Ahles & Bell, 1968;
Jones & Coile, 1988
Blue Ridge Mountains Marginal Radford, Ahles & Bell, 1968
Yes Radford, Ahles & Bell, 1968
Ridge and Valley Yes Jones & Coile, 1988
Cumberland Plateau Yes Jones & Coile, 1988
Georgia Yes Jones & Coile, 1988
Clarke County, Georgia Yes Jones & Coile, 1988
The Taraxacum officinale does not require very much from the environment to grow and prosper.
It is considered a weed by the average citizen because it grows wild in people's yards and is often a
nuisance. It needs a periodic splash of rain to sustain its growth, but can often sustain growth in
both lush and drier environments. It takes about three months for the dandelion to mature and produce seeds. The seeds
sow in the fall, winter, or spring, so reproduction takes place almost year round(Stephens 1994). It flowers
as early as February in the South and sporadically right up to the first frost (Duke 1992).The
T. officinale grows wherever it possibly can. It is an oppurtunist that is liable to pop up anywhere a flower can find a niche. Since its seeds can blow with the wind, it is able to reproduce long distances
from its parents. This creates a population that is very genetically diverse and dense. The dandelion would
not be considered a weed if it were not for these important reproduction processes.