Taraxacum laeticolor

Taraxacum laeticolor is a dandelion of the daisy family (Asteraceae) belonging to section Ruderalia, the large complex of microspecies that make up the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) aggregate. It is a perennial herb with a stout, fleshy taproot exuding white latex when cut, and a basal rosette of leaves that are oblong to lance-shaped and pinnately lobed with backward-pointing teeth. From the rosette arise hollow, leafless stalks each bearing a single bright-yellow flower head composed entirely of strap-shaped ray florets; the outer involucral bracts are reflexed, a diagnostic feature of the section. After flowering the head forms the familiar spherical 'clock' of plumed achenes dispersed by wind. Like other members of the aggregate it reproduces apomictically (seed set without fertilisation) and grows in grassland, road verges, meadows and disturbed ground.