Taraxacum is a sizable genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which contains species commonly known as dandelions. The genus is native to Eurasia and North America, however the two commonplace species worldwide, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, were introduced from Europe and now propagate as wildflowers. Both species are edible within their entirety. You can buy cheap weed online by visiting this link.
The common name dandelion is given to members of the genus. Like other members of the family Asteraceae, they have really small flowers collected together right into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a floret. Partly because of the abundance along with being a generalist species, dandelions are one of the most vital planting season nectar sources for a wide host of pollinators. Many Taraxacum species produce seeds asexually by apomixis, where the seeds are produced without pollination, resulting in offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant.
The species of Taraxacum are tap-rooted, perennial, herbaceous plants, native to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The genus contains many species, which often (or in the case of triploids, obligately) reproduce by apomixis, resulting in many local populations and endemism. In the British Isles alone, 234 microspecies are recognised in nine loosely defined sections, which 40 are "probably endemic".
Generally, the leaves are 5-25 cm long or longer, simple, lobed, and form a basal rosette above the central taproot. The flower heads are yellow to orange coloured, and so are open in the daytime, but closed during the night. The heads are borne singly on a hollow stem (scape) that is often leafless and rises 1-10 cm or more above the leaves. Stems and leaves exude a white, milky latex when broken. A rosette may produce several flowering stems at the same time. The flower heads are 2-5 cm in diameter and consist completely of ray florets. The flower heads mature into spherical seed heads sometimes called blowballs or clocks (in both British and American English) containing many single-seeded fruits called achenes. Each achene is mounted on a pappus of fine hair-like material which permits wind-aided dispersal over long distances.
The flower head is surrounded by bracts (sometimes mistakenly called sepals) in two series. The inner bracts are erect until the seeds mature, then flex downward to permit the seeds to disperse. The outer bracts tend to be reflexed downward, but remain appressed in plants of the sections Palustria and Spectabilia. Some species drop the "parachute" from the achenes; the hair-like parachutes are called pappus, plus they are modified sepals. Between the pappus and the achene is a stalk called a beak, which elongates as the fruit matures. The beak breaks faraway from the achene quite easily, separating the seed from the parachute.
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