Specimen record
Common Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
Description
Perhaps the most universally recognized wildflower, the common dandelion is a naturalized perennial from Eurasia found in every lawn, sidewalk crack, and disturbed site. Despite its reputation as a weed, it is ecologically valuable as one of the earliest and most reliable pollen and nectar sources for bees in spring. Every part of the plant is edible. The spherical seed heads (blowballs) disperse seeds on feathery parachutes.
Identification tips
- 1Bright yellow composite flower head on a single hollow, leafless, milky-sapped stalk
- 2All ray flowers — no disk flowers (unlike many yellow composites)
- 3Deeply lobed basal leaves with backward-pointing teeth (runcinate lobes)
- 4Spherical white seed head ('blowball') of parachute-bearing achenes
- 5Thick taproot exuding milky latex; found in lawns, cracks, roadsides — everywhere
Specimen & preservation notes
Press a complete rosette with root, leaves, flower, and seed head for a comprehensive specimen. Blot the milky sap from the stalk before pressing. The yellow flower color preserves well. Dandelions are ubiquitous — excellent for student practice and for demonstrating composite flower structure.
Habitats
Collection calendar
| Wk | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov |
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Collection notes
Season check
Guide window is wider than observed records.
Flowering records: 361 iNaturalist observations, Massachusetts · Nearby: 1404 observations within 25 km