Dandelion Clocks

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T. officinale can serve as an indicator plant for soil potassium and calcium, as the plant favours soils with relatively low concentrations of calcium, but favours soils with relatively high concentrations of potassium. [48] A field of dandelions in Weiler, Austria The taxonomy of the genus Taraxacum is complicated by apomictic and polyploid lineages, [22] [23] and the taxonomy and nomenclatural situation of T. officinale is not yet fully resolved. [17] The taxonomy of this genus has been complicated by the recognition of numerous species, [24] subspecies and microspecies. For example, Rothmaler's flora of Germany recognizes roughly 70 microspecies. [25]

PLANTS Profile for Taraxacum officinale ssp. ceratophorum (common dandelion) | USDA PLANTS". Plants.usda.gov . Retrieved 2011-10-23. The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants. United States Department of the Army. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. 2009. p.49. ISBN 978-1-60239-692-0. OCLC 277203364. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: others ( link) It is most often considered a weed, especially in lawns and along roadsides, but the leaves, flowers, and roots are sometimes used in herbal medicine and as food. While not in bloom, this species is sometimes confused with others, such as Chondrilla juncea, that have similar basal rosettes of foliage. [55] Another plant, sometimes referred to as fall dandelion, is very similar to dandelion, but produces "yellow fields" later. Its blooms resemble some of the species of Sonchus, but are larger. [56]

Transformation from dandelion to clock

Each Dandelion flower is a miracle of nature’s engineering and is made up of up to 200 individual ‘ray florets’. It turns to face the sun throughout the day, which can help you tell the time.

a b Kowalchik, Claire; Hylton, William H.; Carr, Anna (1987). Rodale's illustrated encyclopedia of herbs. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-87857-699-9. Taraxacum is derived from the Arabic word tarakhshagog (or tarakhshaqūn) for a bitter herb. [36] It may be related to the Greek word ταρασσω ( tarasso) meaning to disturb. [36] [ verification needed]T. officinale's diuretic properties - believed to be a result of the plant’s high potassium content [63] - have been well described, with the leaves of this plant having been used for this purpose in traditional Chinese medicine for approximately 2,000 years, with other regions of the world using the plant in the same way; in French, a common name for T.officinale is pissenlit, 'a colorful description of its diuretic activity.' A study conducted in 2009 noted 'promising' results regarding these diuretic properties, but that further studies would need to be conducted into the plant's efficacy. [64] Herbal medicine [ edit ] The calyculi (the cuplike bracts that hold the florets) are composed of 12 to 18 segments: each segment is reflexed and sometimes glaucous. The lanceolate shaped bractlets are in two series, with the apices acuminate in shape. The 14–25 millimetres ( 1⁄ 2–1in) wide involucres are green to dark green or brownish-green, with the tips dark gray or purplish. The florets number 40 to over 100 per head, having corollas that are yellow or orange-yellow in color. Benoliel, Doug (2011). Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest (Rev. and updateded.). Seattle, WA: Skipstone. p.73. ISBN 978-1-59485-366-1. OCLC 668195076. As every schoolboy used to know, the name came to us as a rendering of the French for lion’s teeth, a reference to the jagged leaves; Welsh, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian all have similar versions and Germany and Norway use names that are a direct translation. However, the French themselves have adopted the plant’s traditional reputation as a herbal diuretic, calling it pissenlit – literally, wet-the-bed.

These European dandelions can be divided into two groups. The first group reproduces sexually, as do most seed plants. This group consists of dandelions that have a diploid set of chromosomes, and are sexually self-incompatible. Sexual reproduction involves a reduction of the somatic chromosome number by meiosis followed by a restoration of the somatic chromosome number by fertilization. Diploid dandelions have eight pairs of chromosomes, and meiosis is regular with normal pairing of homologous chromosomes at the metaphase I stage of meiosis. [35]Kenny, O.; Brunton, N. P.; Walsh, D. (April 2015). "Characterisation of Antimicrobial Extracts from Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale)". Phytotherapy Research. 29 (4): 526–532. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5276. PMID 25644491. S2CID 5564213.

It used to be common for people used to grow dandelions for winter salad and for chemists to turn into medicines. Dandelion leaves are rich in iron, potassium and zinc.Herbal remedies made from dandelions have been discovered on clay tablets in ancient Egypt and Greece.