Taraxacum officinale agg.
Common name
dandelion
Family
Asteraceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
TAROFF
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
A very common herb of grassland, cultivated ground, and lawns.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Detailed description
Dandelion typically forms a prostrate to mounding rosette, and usually wider than tall. Foliage is dark green, deeply lobed, and hairless. Each flower head is composed of many small yellow ray flowers. Seed are attached to a pappus which facilitates wind dispersal.
Flower colours
Yellow
Year naturalised
1852
Origin
Europe
Etymology
taraxacum: From the Greek ‘taraxos’ (disorder), and ‘akos’ (remedy), referring to medical qualities.
officinale: From the Latin officina shortened from opificina which originally meant ‘workshop’ but later came to mean a monastic storeroom, herb-room or pharmacy. Refers to the plant’s medicinal value.