Taraxacum officionale
Common Dandelion
Family Asteraceae
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Use
Salad, cooked green, cooked vegetable, fritter, coffee. Young leaves
can be eaten raw in salad or boiled. Young flower buds can be boiled
and served with butter. Flowers can be used for fritters. Baked and
ground roots can be steeped to make a coffee-like drink.
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Description
Growth Form: Herbaceous plant, prostrate rosette.
Leaves: Usually 5-20cm (2-8in) long with irregular pointed lobes and deep sinuses. Young leaves tend to be oval-shaped, and do not usually have deep sinuses.
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Flower and leaves
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Leaves, stems, and flowerbuds
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Flowers: Solitary, yellow, composite at end of stalk.
Fruits: Clustered into whitish, downy seed balls.
Stem: Hollow and milky, 5-15cm (2-6in) tall.
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Habitat and Range
Disturbed areas, lawns, and roadsides throughout the United States.
Season
Harvest the leaves and buds in early spring, the flowers in spring and early summer, and the roots in fall and early spring.
Fun Facts
Leaves are rich in vitamin A.
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Fruits
See a recipe for Dandelion Coffee!
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