Practical
Plants

Taraxacum laevigatum

Red-Seed Dandelion

a perennial member of the Taraxacum genus in the family Compositae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
perennial
Height
0.2 m
Fertility
Self fertile, Apomictic
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Apomictic

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2]. The following uses are also probably applicable to this species, though we have no records for them[K] Root - cooked[3]. Flowers - raw or cooked[3]. The unopened flower buds can be used in fritters[3]. The whole plant is dried and used as a tea[2][3]. A pleasant tea is made from the flowers. The leaves and the roots can also be used to make tea. The root is dried and roasted to make a coffee substitute.

Product or use
Coffee
Product or use
Tea
Plant part
Flowers
Plant part
Leaves
Plant part
Root

Environment

Range
Most of Europe, including Britain.
Habitat
Dry pastures on sandy or calcareous soils, heaths, waste ground, walls etc[1].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame and either surface-sow or only just cover the seed. Make sure the compost does not dry out. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, choosing relatively deep pots to accommodate the tap root. Plant them out in early summer. Division in early spring as the plant comes into growth.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Prefers a well-drained humus-rich soil in full sun or light shade. Many species in this genus produce their seed apomictically. This is an asexual method of seed production where each seed is genetically identical to the parent plant. Occasionally seed is produced sexually, the resulting seedlings are somewhat different to the parent plants and if these plants are sufficiently distinct from the parents and then produce apomictic seedlings these seedlings are, in theory at least, a new species.

References

  1. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

    ↩

  2. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩1↩2

  3. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

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