Scientific Name
Taraxacum coreanum Nakai
Common Name(s)
Korean Dandelion
Synonym(s)
Taraxacum pseudo-albidum, Taraxacum pseudo-albidum var. pseudo-albidum, Taraxacum pseudo-albidum f. pseudo-albidum
Scientific Classification
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Cichorioideae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Subtribe: Crepidinae
Genus: Taraxacum
Origin
This species grows wild chiefly in the Korean Peninsula and some parts of China.
Flower
Color: White
Bloom Time: Spring
Description
Taraxacum coreanum is a perennial herbaceous plant sometimes mistaken for Taraxacum albidum. The deeply lobed leaves form a basal rosette from which the long, unbranched, slightly downy flower stalks rise to 12 inches (30 cm).
The plant blooms once a year, usually in spring but sometimes in late fall. Each scape bears a single flower-head consisting of many small white ray florets opening from a rounded bud consisting of narrow green bracts.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 4a to 8b: from −30 °F (−34.4 °C) to 20 °F (−6.7 °C).
How to Grow and Care
At a very basic level, you don't need to do much to grow Dandelions. Chances are there is a whole yard full of them near where you live, perhaps even right outside your door. Still, it's likely that the Dandelion plants growing in your lawn are Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale subsp. vulgare). This is the most common variety of Dandelion, but there are thousands of varieties and cultivars to be found around the world. Common Dandelion has all the health benefits mentioned above, but it tends to be a bit more bitter than some other varieties of Dandelion you can buy.
Dandelions are, by nature a very bitter green, but there are steps you can take to reduce how bitter it is. First, grow a less bitter variety. The right variety can make Dandelion greens taste much better than the wild variety growing in your yard.
Second, try growing Dandelions in the shade. This will blanch the leaves some and will result in a less bitter leaf. Alternately, you can manually blanch the Dandelion leaves by covering the plants a few days before you are ready to harvest.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Dandelion.
Links
- Back to genus Taraxacum
- Plantpedia: Browse flowering plants by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, or Origin
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