Taraxacum laevigatum
| Taraxacum laevigatum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Taraxacum laevigatum (common name: red-seed dandelion)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame and either surface-sow or only just cover the seed. Make sure the compost does not dry out. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, choosing relatively deep pots to accommodate the tap root. Plant them out in early summer.
Division in early spring as the plant comes into growth.
Cultivation: Prefers a well-drained humus-rich soil in full sun or light shade.
Many species in this genus produce their seed apomictically. This is an asexual method of seed production where each seed is genetically identical to the parent plant. Occasionally seed is produced sexually, the resulting seedlings are somewhat different to the parent plants and if these plants are sufficiently distinct from the parents and then produce apomictic seedlings these seedlings are, in theory at least, a new species.
Range: Most of Europe, including Britain.
Habitat: Dry pastures on sandy or calcareous soils, heaths, waste ground, walls etc[1].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked[2].
The following uses are also probably applicable to this species, though we have no records for them[K]
Root - cooked[3].
Flowers - raw or cooked[3]. The unopened flower buds can be used in fritters[3].
The whole plant is dried and used as a tea[2][3].
A pleasant tea is made from the flowers. The leaves and the roots can also be used to make tea.
The root is dried and roasted to make a coffee substitute.
Pollinators: Apomictic
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.