Taraxacum

Taraxacum is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. Its species bear composite flower heads and fruits with feathery structures that disperse them by wind.

Asteraceae: A large family of flowering plants whose small flowers are grouped into dense heads that resemble single blooms. Taraxacum belongs to this family, whose flower-head structure shapes its appearance.
Wind dispersal: The transport of seeds, spores, or fruits by moving air. Air currents lift the pappus-bearing fruits away from parent plants.
Taraxacum officinale: A widespread dandelion species complex native to Eurasia and established across much of the world. This familiar species complex supplies many traditional food and herbal uses.
Taraxacum erythrospermum: A dandelion species recognized in part by its reddish-brown fruits. It illustrates the range of fruit colors and forms within Taraxacum.
Plant taxonomy: The science of naming, describing, and classifying plants. Taraxacum classification is unusually difficult because many lineages reproduce without sex.
Capitulum (botany): A dense cluster of individual flowers arranged on a shared receptacle, characteristic of the daisy family. Each apparent Taraxacum flower is a head of many individual florets.
Terminal velocity: The steady speed reached by a falling object when drag balances gravitational force. The pappus slows falling fruits, extending the time available for wind transport.
Dandelion coffee: A caffeine-free roasted beverage made from dandelion roots. Roasted roots of Taraxacum species are used as a coffee-like drink.
Taraxacum albidum: An East Asian dandelion species with white flower heads. Its pale flowers contrast with the familiar yellow heads of many dandelions.
Species complex: A group of closely related species whose boundaries are difficult to distinguish or define. Many dandelions are treated as complexes containing numerous narrowly defined forms.

Linked from 1 page

SonchusCompared with: Dandelions resemble sow-thistles, but each Taraxacum plant typically has one head per leafless stalk.