Taraxacum planum

Taraxacum planum is a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae belonging to the large and taxonomically intricate dandelion genus Taraxacum, much of which reproduces apomictically to yield numerous narrowly defined microspecies. Like other dandelions it forms a basal rosette of leaves arising from a thick taproot, the leaves variously toothed or pinnately lobed. Each flowering stem is a hollow, leafless scape bearing a single capitulum composed entirely of yellow ligulate (strap-shaped) ray florets; the plant exudes a milky latex when broken. After flowering the head matures into the familiar globe of plumed achenes dispersed by wind. As a microspecies its precise circumscription and distribution are defined by subtle characters of the leaves, bracts and fruit, and it occurs in grassland, meadows and disturbed open ground within the broader European range of the genus.