Dandelion Information Essay, Research Paper

Scientific name -Kingdom-Plantea, Phylum- Tracheophyta, Class- Angiospermae, Order- Asterales, Family- Asteraceca, Genus- Taraxacum, Species- officialeDescription – The Taraxacum officiale is a perennial herb that grows from two to eighteen inches tall they are a stem less plant and all parts of the plant contain a milky juice. The leaves are an olive or a dull yellowish color, and smooth with ridged edges where it got its common name, dandelion from the French words “dent de lion” which means lions tooth. The stalks are simple smooth, brittle and hollow. The flowers are one and a half-inch wide and a golden yellow color. The flower blooms from April to August, from 6am to 8pm. They have taproots that can grow up to three feet long in soft soil. There are about 150 to 200 flowerets that are strap shaped that make up the flower.Habitat – Their habitat is in the Northern Temperate Zones located in Europe and Asia. Then the colonists from Europe brought in to America. The plant usually grows lawns.Life cycle – The life cycle of the dandelion is when the adult is mature enough the flowerets turn into seeds with a fluff on it. This fluff enables the seed to be picked up the wind to carry it away from the parent plant.Importance – The dandelion has many little known uses to people. Like the roots are bitter, but they can be boiled put into salads when they are young, or they can be used as potherbs. The roots can be roasted and used as a substitute for coffee. The milky juice is used in some tonics for disorders in the digestive system and the liver. The flower stalks can be yields some rubber in the form of threads. Plus the flower heads can be used as a laxative and for making wine. On the other hand most people think as them as a weed and want to get rid of them as fast as possible. This is a hard task though because if not the entire long root if taken out of the ground the plant is encouraged to grow again.Bibliography- Mrs. M. Grieive, “Amodern Herbal”, (8-Mar-98), Yahoo, Windows 95, 2-8-99