Taraxacum officinale
Common Dandelion
Not native to Florida
An occasional wildflower mostly found in the panhandle and the central peninsula and randomly elsewhere in Florida. Native to Eurasia it is now found throughout North America and most temperate regions of the world.
This familiar plant grows up to 51cm (20 in.) tall from deep tuber-like tap roots. The yellow flowers are up to 4.5cm (1-3/4 in.) wide with from 40 to over a hundred narrow, strap-like rays. There is no disk. The solitary flower head has reflexed outer bracts equal in length to the inner bracts, on top of a smooth hollow stem. All leaves are in a basal rosette, 5-25cm (2-10 in.) long, oblanceolate and pinnately lobed with the lobes pointing backward. Leaves are usually smooth on top and slightly hairy below.
Taraxacum officinale is the most common and considered by some to be the only species of this genus in Florida. Other plants with flowers somewhat similar to dandelions include Hieracium (hawkweeds), Krigia (dwarfdandelions) and Pyrrhopappus (desert-chicory).
For information about the historic, culinary and medical uses of dandelions, visit Wildflowers of the Southeastern United States.
Taraxacum officinale is a member of the Asteraceae - Aster family.
Other species of the Taraxacum genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Taraxacum laevigatum - ROCK DANDELION
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Apr 01, 2020