Dandelion

Dandelion. So we see it in early spring.

Dandelion. This is a ripe flower.

Dandelion officinalis is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family of astroids, it has a thick rodlike branchy root that almost perpendicularly goes into the depths of the earth and reaches a length of 50 cm. On the whitish root surface under the magnifying glass, you can see belts of milky ways in the form of dark rings. The leaves in the basal rosette are crenate-pinnately-dissected. Their magnitude depends on the place where the dandelion grows. On dry soils in bright sun, the leaves of the dandelion are no longer than 15-20 cm long, and in ditches, where the shadow is moist, they often grow three times as long. If you look closely at the leaf of the plant, you can see that something like a groove passes through its middle. It turns out that these grooves collect moisture, including the night, and direct it to the root with streams.

The flower stem (arrow) of the dandelion is thick, leafless, cylindrical, and arched, with one yellow-golden head on top, which is not a single flower, but a whole basket of them. Each flower has the appearance of a tube with five fused petals and five stamens attached to them. Inflorescences-dandelion baskets behave differently during the day, and depending on the weather. In the afternoon and in wet weather, they close, protecting the pollen from getting wet. In clear weather, inflorescences open at 6 am and close at 3 pm. Thus, according to the state of the dandelion inflorescences, you can fairly accurately know the time.

The fruits of the dandelion - weightless, dry achenes, attached by a long thin rod to the fuzz-parachutes, which are easily blown away by the wind. It is interesting that the parachutes perform their purpose exceptionally precisely: when flying, the seeds of the dandelion do not swing and do not overturn, they are always below, and, landing, are already ready for sowing.

The minimum germination temperature of achenes is + 2 ... 4 ° С. Shoots of dandelion from achenes and shoots from the kidneys on the root collar appear in late April and throughout the summer. Summer shoots overwinter. Blooms in May - June. The maximum fertility of a plant is 12,000 achenes, which sprout from a depth of not more than 4 ... 5 cm.

Dandelion easily adapts to environmental conditions and safely survives, bearing trampling and grazing. It can not muffle and squeeze out any other plants!
https://www.botanichka.ru/article/taraxacum/