Plant · GBIF taxon 5394163
Common Dandelion
Taraxacum officinaleAlso known as Blowball, Lion's Tooth, Monk's Head, Cankerwort
Common dandelions anchor deep taproots that break up compacted soil and draw nutrients upward. Bright yellow flower heads open in full sunlight and close at night, offering essential early-season food for pollinators. Each bloom matures into a white seed head whose feathery parachutes drift for miles on gentle breezes.
FloweringPerennialUrban Wildlife
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Least ConcernConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXLeast ConcernRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Photosynthetic
Predators
- American Goldfinch
- Eastern Cottontail
- Broad-headed Bug
ThreatsHerbicides, habitat conversion
HabitatsLawns, meadows, roadsides, disturbed soils
Life span5–10 years
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- OrderAsterales
- FamilyAsteraceae
- GenusTaraxacum
- SpeciesTaraxacum officinale
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
Responsible observation
- Sunlight Watching: Observe flower heads open during warm sunny mornings and close at dusk or before rain.
- Pollinator Support: Leave early spring flowers intact in lawns to feed emerging native bees and butterflies.
- Root Dynamics: Extract the entire taproot when removing plants manually to prevent regrowth from root fragments.
Look-alike (c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Douglas Goldman · cc-by-sa
Pollinator Andreas Trepte / CC BY-SA 2.5 · cc-by-sa
Close Relative (c) Tom Wainwright, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tom Wainwright · cc-by
Family Relative no rights reserved, uploaded by Mary Crickmore · cc0
Help improve the field guideSomething wrong?
Checking your Fauna account…Report a name, category, or profile issue for review.