Common Dandelion

Description:

The leaves are 5–25 cm long or longer, simple and basal, lobed, forming a rosette above the central taproot. The flower head is yellow. They are open in the daytime but closed at night. This one has a small insect moving through the ray florets. The flower heads mature into spherical seed heads. The flower head is surrounded by bracts (sometimes mistakenly called sepals) in two series. The inner bracts are erect until the seeds mature, then flex downward to allow the seeds to disperse; the outer bracts are always reflexed downward.

Habitat:

Lawn

Notes:

I leave dandelions in my back yard, hidden from neighbors scornful looks. Bees and other insects appreciate the extra nectar when few other things are blooming. To control an overpopulation I just pull off the seed head before it matures.