dandelion

Plant Taraxacum officinale belonging to the Compositae family. The stalk rises from a rosette of leaves that are deeply indented like a lion's teeth, hence the name (from French dent de lion). The flower heads are bright yellow. The fruit is surmounted by the hairs of the calyx which constitute the familiar dandelion ‘puff’. Introduced from Europe, dandelions now grow throughout North America.

The milky juice of the dandelion has laxative properties, and the young leaves are sometimes eaten in salads. In the Russian species Taraxacum koksaghyz, the juice forms an industrially usable latex, relied upon especially during World War II.