Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Dicotyledon Literature for Taraxacum officinale
Wagner et al., 1990, 1999.
   Asteraceae -- The Sunflower Family Bibliography
      Taraxacum officinale

Common name(s): dandelion, common dandelion, lauhele, laulele
General Information
DistributionNative to Eurasia, now a cosmopolitan weed of temperate climates.In the Hawaiian Islands, naturalized on Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Maui, Hawai`i.
















Leaves
 Leaves oblanceolate, 6-40 cm long, 0.7-15 cm wide, ± runcinate-pinnatifid or lobed, the terminal lobe usually larger than the others, usually sparsely pubescent on lower surface and midrib, otherwise glabrous.
Flowers
 Scapes 5-50 cm long, glabrous or villous; involucre (1-)1.5-2.5 cm high, the inner bracts usually 13-20, erect, eventually becoming reflexed.
Fruit
 Achenes pale gray or yellow at maturity, the body 3-4 mm long, the beak 2.5-4 times as long as the body.
Chromosomes
 2n = 8, 16-48