Family: dandelions (Cichoriaceae)
Flowering time: March–May (October)
Size: 5–30 cm
Habitat: cultivated meadows, along paths and old walls, cultivated areas
Species from the group of the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.) we all know, as young leaves are often picked for salads, and their bright yellow flower heads are also edible. Early spring, from a stout vertical root, leaves emerge that form a basal rosette. Lanceolate (or broader) leaves are deeply lobed, at the base white woolly-hairy. The head (inflorescence) consists of numerous yellow ligulate flowers and narrow-lobed green involucral bracts that surround the head from below. The involucral bracts during flowering time usually protrude to the side or are folded back. The outer involucral leaves are as long as the inner ones during flowering. The head is 3 to 5 cm wide, and longer than 2 cm. The common dandelion grows on fresh nitrogen-rich soils throughout Slovenia.
It contains a white sap that promotes appetite and metabolism; roasted roots of the common dandelion are used as a substitute for coffee, and they have also been used to relieve inflammation.
