The bright yellow blossoms and round, fluffy seed heads of dandelions dot lawns, gardens, roadsides, and meadows during the spring and summer. Many people consider these wild plants to be weeds and try to keep them out of their lawns and gardens. But dandelions can be used as food. The bitter young leaves are sometimes used in salads or cooked like a vegetable. Some people prepare a coffeelike beverage with the roots. Although dandelions originally came from Europe and Asia, they now grow in many parts of North America where the climate is mild. Dandelions are perennial flowers, which means that they survive the winter and regrow each spring. Dandelions are small plants. The most familiar type may grow low to the ground or reach up to about 1 foot (30 centimeters) in height. The plant's green, jagged-edged leaves grow all around the base of its smooth, hollow stem. It has a central root called a tap root that can grow as deep as 5 feet (1.5 meters). After taking root, the plant grows rapidly and flowers during spring and summer. Each plant produces a single flower head that is made up of about 150 to 200 tiny yellow flowers. The mature flower head measures about 11/2 to 2 inches (3.8 to 5 centimeters) across. It opens during the day and closes at night. After flowering, the plant produces a head of thin, brownish seeds. Each seed is attached to a feathery structure on a threadlike stalk. Together these feathery structures make up the dandelion's familiar fluffy puffball of seeds. These seeds can scatter far and wide in the breeze. Even if dandelions are cut down with a lawn mower, they come back year after year because the plants' deep roots keep them alive. To remove the plant, a gardener must dig up the entire root. Some people use a weed killer to get rid of dandelions in a lawn. |