Taraxacum cordatum

Taraxacum cordatum is a perennial herb of the daisy family (Asteraceae) belonging to the large, taxonomically complex Taraxacum officinale (dandelion) aggregate, a group of largely apomictic microspecies. Like other dandelions, it is a stemless, rosette-forming plant arising from a stout, fleshy taproot that exudes a milky white latex when cut. The leaves are basal, oblanceolate in outline and pinnately lobed, the lobes often backward-pointing; in this microspecies the leaf bases and lobing tend toward a more cordate (heart-shaped) configuration, the feature reflected in the epithet. Each flowering head is borne singly on a hollow, leafless scape and is composed entirely of yellow ligulate (strap-shaped) ray florets. After flowering, the head matures into a spherical "clock" of single-seeded fruits (cypselae), each bearing a slender beak topped by a parachute-like pappus of fine white bristles for wind dispersal. It grows in meadows, grassland, and disturbed open ground, flowering chiefly in spring.