Nederlands: Gewone paardenbloem
Español: Achicoria amarga - Diente de león
Français: Pissenlit
Deutsch: Gewöhnliche Löwenzahn - Wiesenlöwenzahn
Family: Asteraceae - Daisy family
Flowering time: March-October (throughout the year)
Height: 5-40cm
Altitude: to 2600m
Colour: mid-yellow, orange-yellow
Flower: 25-50mm, often convex above
Leaves: margins shallowly lobed to deeply lobed, often toothed with sharp or dull teeth
Habitat: grassy habitats, roadsides, disturbed banks, shores of water ways, cultivated ground
Distribution: throughout Europe
Notes: Taraxacum officinale grows from unbranched taproots and produces one to more than ten stems. Each flowering stem lacks bracts and has one single flower head. The yellow flower heads turn into round balls of silver tufted fruits that disperse in the wind. A dandelion flower head consists of 40-100 little flowers (florets) and each of these little flowers contains nectar and pollen. Dandelion is in flower for most of the year but has its peak flowering time from late March to May; the time when many pollinators emerge after they have survived winter in hiding places and are out and about looking for food. Pollinators that feed on dandelions are bees, hoverflies and butterflies. The taxonomy of the genus is complicated: in Europe over 200 ´species´ have been included in this group.
Related key words: Crooswijkerzand Rotterdam, finca, food plant, insect, bessenwants, butterfly, Colias alfacariensis
