| Common Name : | Dandelion, Common dandelion, Blowballs. |
| Botanical Name : | Taraxacum officinale |
| Family : | Asteraceae |
| Country : | Ireland |
There are few flowers around us which are not welcomed but very attractive and showy. They are notorious weed with beauty. Name of one such flower is Common dandelion or simply Dandelion. This flower is mainly native to Eurasian region. Botanical name is Taraxacum officinale and belongs to the plant family Asteraceae.
Dandelion is a taproot herbaceous perennial plant. Leafs are slightly hairy and deeply toothed (In French 'Dent de Lion' means 'Lion's Tooth'). Leafs are long and narrow near the petiole. This plant grows mostly on lawns, roadsides.
Flowers of Dandelion are very much showy. They are yellow in color and blooms from March to October. Similar to the other Aster flower it has lot of petals. Petals are slim and having toothed at the tip. The stalk of the flower is much long and hollow inside. Stalks are available in green and reddish.
The flower converts into a silver colored ball that contains numerous seeds. The kids use to play it by blowing and dispersing the seeds (hence name Blowballs). Because of its numerous seeds the plant spread quickly in next year, and having taproot it is really difficult to get rid of it. That's why to the gardeners or farmers the rule is pluck the flower whenever you see it (beauty is valueless here).
Despite of being a weed plant this still has few medicinal uses. This plant has the remedy for bile and liver related problems. This plant can be eaten as vegetable. Young leafs and buds can be eaten as salad whereas the older leafs after cooking (i.e. frying with olive oil). The leafs are a great source of Potassium and Calcium.
Silver ball, A Dandelion flower converted into this.
Photos of this article were taken from several places of Ireland. It was the month of March and April of 2016.
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icwow.blogspot.com/
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