Taraxacum platycarpum

Taraxacum platycarpum is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae, the East-Asian counterpart of the common dandelion. It forms a basal rosette of oblanceolate leaves that are pinnately lobed or toothed, often with backward-pointing lobes, arising directly from a stout taproot; the plant lacks an above-ground stem. The flower heads are solitary, bright yellow, and composed entirely of ligulate (ray) florets, borne on hollow, leafless scapes that exude a milky white latex when broken. After flowering, the heads develop into globular clusters of achenes, each bearing a parachute-like pappus of fine white hairs for wind dispersal; the species epithet platycarpum refers to its broad achenes. Native to East Asia, including Korea, Japan, and China, it grows in fields, grassy slopes, roadsides, and disturbed open ground. It is closely related to the cosmopolitan Taraxacum officinale complex and shares its rosette habit and ruderal ecology.