Taraxacum longisquameum

Taraxacum longisquameum is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae belonging to the large Taraxacum officinale aggregate of dandelions, one of many apomictic microspecies recognised within Section Taraxacum (the common dandelions) of temperate Europe. Like other members of the aggregate it forms a basal rosette of lobed, runcinate leaves arising from a stout, fleshy taproot, with leaf segments that are typically backward-pointing. Solitary flower heads of strap-shaped (ligulate) yellow florets are borne on hollow, leafless, milky-sapped scapes; the involucral bracts of this microspecies are notably long-squamose, a feature reflected in its epithet. The fruits are achenes bearing a parachute-like white pappus, dispersed by wind. It grows in grassland, meadows, lawns, roadsides and other open, often disturbed habitats. The whole plant exudes a bitter white latex when broken, characteristic of the genus.