Dandelions

Marley LOVES dandelions. These cheery flowers are bright, golden and named after a big cat!

You can find dandelions on almost any outdoor adventure. Some people think dandelions are weeds, but they do an important job for wildlife.


The dandelion family

Dandelions belong to a huge family of plants. Their relatives include things like thistles, daisies and even lettuce.

Thistles are spiny, and their flowers are often purple

Daisies have a yellow centre and white petals around the outside

Lettuces are grown for their edible leaves. They can be green or purple.


Parts of a dandelion


1. Leaf. This is the leaf. It has a wavy edge, but no spines.

2. Flower stalk. This is the stalk of the flowerhead. It holds the flowers up above the ground. It is hollow and people used to make it into a kind of whistle.

3. Flowerhead. This looks like a flower, but it is actually hundreds of tiny flowers. They all work together to attract bees and other insects to visit. Insects visit the flowers to eat nectar and collect pollen.



Dandelion flowers, roots and fruits


The tooth of a lion

This is the long root of dandelion. It looks a little like a white carrot. It stores food for the plant so it can grow back every year.

People used to think it looked like the tooth of a lion.

The name Dandelion comes from the French dent de lion, which means lion's tooth.

Do you think it looks like a lion's tooth ?



The flowerhead of a dandelion

This is the flowerhead of a dandelion.

It has been opened up, so we can see how many tiny flowers are inside. The petals are golden yellow, like a lion's mane.

Because it has hundreds of tiny flowers, it can make hundreds of seeds.

This is a great strategy for a weed - weeds are pretty cool !


Three tiny dandelion flowers

Here are three Dandelion flowers. They are each about as big as a fingernail!

The white blob at the bottom of each flower is the ovary where the seeds are made.

This will turn into a fruit.



A plant that flies
Dandelion seeds grow inside a tiny dry fruit.

Each fruit has a little parachute that helps them to fly away from the parent plant and find a new spot to grow in.

Many other kinds of plants can do this too.

The cluster of fruits is sometimes called a clock. Some people imagine you can tell the time by blowing the clock - each blow is one hour.


Summary

Dandelions are very common, but have some incredible abilities to help them survive.

       - Long roots store food over winter

       - Bright petals on the flowers attract helpful insects

       - Hundreds of tiny flowers make hundreds of seeds

       - The seeds can fly huge distances in their parachute-fruit


How to identify a dandelion

Flowers
This is Orange Hawkweed. It has orange petals. Dandelions have golden-yellow petals.

This is a dandelion. All the petals of the flowersre golden-yellow.

This is a sunflower. The petals in the middle are dark.


Leaves
This is ragwort. It has leaves all the way up the flower stem. Dandelions are all down near the ground.

This is prickly sow-thistle. The leaves are spiky. Dandelions have a zigzag edge, but no spikes.


This is coltsfoot. It has leaves shaped a bit like a heart. Dandelion leaves are long and have a zig-zag edge, like a saw.

Yes - a dandelion. The leaves are all at the bottom of the plant. They are long with zig-zag edges like a saw. They are soft and are not spiky to touch.


Dandelion lifecycles

1. A fruit on the wind

A dandelion fruit is carried on the wind far from its parent plant on a little parachute.

Inside is a seed.

When the fruit lands, the lifecycle starts again.

2. The seed germinates

When the seed lands it begins to grow. A root grows into the ground and a shoot grows into the air.


3. The plant is fully grown

The dandelion makes a flower and insects visit to pollinate it. This helps to make new seeds.

The plant will live for many years. Each year it makes new flowers.


4. The flowers turn to fruit

The flowers make fruits.

Each flowerhead can make up to 400 fruits. The fruit head is sometimes called a clock.


Dandlion quiz

Can you help Marley the cat with the answers to this Dandelion quiz ?


Question 1: Which are close relatives of dandelions (choose two)

Cabbages

Daisies

Thistles

Elephants


Question 2: Match the dandelion part to the job it does.

Parts:

1. Root

2. Leaf

3. Flower stalk

4. Flowerhead


a) Catches sunlight to make food for the plant

b) Attracts bees and other insects. Turns into the fruits

c) Holds the flowers up above the ground

d) Stores food for the winter

Question 3: What is this a close up picture of ?
A dandelion root

A dandelion leaf

A dandelion flowerhead

A dandelion clock


Question 4: What does 'dent de lion' mean?
Tooth of a lion

A dented lion


Question 5: How many seeds can a dandelion make?
One

Five

Hundreds


Question 6: What is the name for this?
A watch

A clock

An hourglass


Question 7: Dandelion or not ?
A plant with bright orange flowers.


Question 8: Dandelion or not ?
A plant that has yellow flowers and zigzag leaves all at the bottom that are not spiny.


Answers:

Question 1: Which are close relatives of dandelions (choose two)

Daisies and Thistles


Question 2: Match the dandelion part to the job it does.
1, d) Root - Stores food for the winter

2, a) Leaf - Catches sunlight to make food for the plant

3, c) Flower stalk - Holds the flowers up above the ground

4, b) Flowerhead - Attracts bees and other insects. Turns into the fruits


Question 3: What is this a close up picture of ?
A dandelion flowerhead


Question 4: What does 'dent de lion' mean?
Tooth of a lion


Question 5: How many seeds can a dandelion make?
Hundreds


Question 6: What is the name for this?

A clock


Question 7: Dandelion or not ?
No - this is orange hawkweed - its flowers are too orange to be a dandelion


Question 8: Dandelion or not ?
Yes - this is a dandelion - it has yellow flowers and zigzag leaves all at the bottom that are not spiny.




Congratulations

You're a dandelion expert

Well done - you've followed the path of the dandelion and learned all about its amazing ways to survive.

Although many people think dandelions are just weeds, they are also very important for wildlife, so next time you are out on your walk, look out for these cheery and useful little plants.



Last modified: Tuesday, 2 May 2023, 1:33 PM