File:Taraxacum officinale head4 (16190886777).jpg

Introduced, warm-season to yearlong-green, perennial herb; to 35 cm tall and with a large taproot. Leaves are soft, hairless, deeply toothed and form a rosette at the base of the plant. Flowerheads consist of a solitary head at the tip of an unbranched, hollow stem; florets are yellow and ligulate. Fruit are long-beaked with a white-cream pappus. Flowering occurs over most of the year, but mostly spring to autumn. A native of Europe, it is found on disturbed, fertile, moist soils; most common in lawns, wastelands and heavily grazed pastures. It has poor tolerance of heavy clays and saline or acid soils. Produces palatable and nutritious feed; often with high crude protein and magnesium levels. Its leaves are normally prostrate and not readily available to cattle. However, managing grazing to increase pasture height (e.g. rotational grazing), forces dandelion leaves to grow more vertically. Roots are used in herbal medicine and as a coffee