❊~Some See a weed, Others See A Wish~❊
Dandelion Stories
A collection of short stories about the dandelion flower.
Dandelion Recipes
Recipes that use dandelion roots, leaves or flowers.
Dandelion Benefits
The health benefits of dandelion for different ailments.
Dandelion Information
Dandelion Flowers
Dandelion plants flower nearly year-round and in mild climates. The flowers most often bloom as early as March and well into the autumn months, repeatedly blooming throughout the growing season. Flowers appear soon after the seedling stage around the time the leaves develop.
The flowers have tiny modified leaves called bracts at their base.
Dandelion flowers are bright golden-yellow and grow on the tip of a leafless, hollow stalk that is 6 to 24 inches (15-60 cm) tall.
The yellow flower head of the dandelion is known as a capitulum and is actually comprised of multiple flowers held together by a receptacle.
The flower head consists of many small, yellow, petal-like flowers referred to as 'ray flowers', or 'ray florets'. These florets radiate outward from the center button and are collected together to form the composite yellow flower head. The flower head is 4/5 to 1-2/5 inches (2–3.5 cm) across. One dandelion flower head may have 100 to 300 "petals," and each one is actually a complete flower. This type of flower—a compact mass of many petal-like flowers—is called a "composite."
Each dandelion floret produces a single seed that attaches to the pappus via the beak, a thin stalk. After pollination, the dandelion flower dries out for about 10 days and then the seed-bearing parachutes expand and lift out of the dried flower head. The dried part of the flower then drops off and the parachute ball opens into a full sphere.
There are two different patterns of "flowering". In the early spring flower heads stay open from sunrise to dusk, but in June to July the flower heads close by noon.
The blossoms eventually turn to the white puffy seed heads, ready for dispersal. The blossom and seed heads persist throughout the life of the plant and the dandelion plants can live for several years.
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For more information about the dandelion, check out the dandelion factoids section,
or explore some unique dandelion folklore, myths and legends.