Taraxacum

Also known as the dandelion genus, dandelions, Taraxarum

thumb|Dandelion bilobed stigma bearing pollen

OverviewAI-generated

Taraxacum is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae, commonly known as dandelion. It belongs to the order Asterales and the class Magnoliopsida within the phylum Tracheophyta. The genus is characterized by yellow flowers and produces fruit in the form of an achene. It is a source of rubber and plant sap.

The taxon has been described in sources including the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition and the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. Records of Taraxacum exist in Canada, Mexico, the United States, and China, with collections held by institutions such as the University of Alberta Museums. The genus is accepted in taxonomic databases and is the subject of numerous scientific publications and observations.

Synthesized by Vinony from 48 facts across 9 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, iNaturalist, PubMed, Gbif Occ, Plants of the World, iDigBio, WoRMS, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

common dandelion

Asteraceae

FAMILY

KingdomPlantae
PhylumTracheophyta
ClassMagnoliopsida
OrderAsterales
FamilyAsteraceae

Native toAfghanistan, Alaska, Albania, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Algeria, Altay, Amur, Antipodean Is., Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South

Observations277,601

Observations recorded58,563,942

General: Taraxacum (possibly derived from the Pers. talkh chakok

via GBIF · Kew POWO

Museum specimens

Specimen records: 9,300
With media: 6,439
Family: Asteraceae
Collections: UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA MUSEUMS, GH, DBG, ETSU, CAS, DAV
Recorded in: Canada, Mexico, United States, China

iDigBio →

Research

1,325 papers

Dandelion (Taraxacum Genus): A Review of Chemical Constituents and Pharmacological Effects.ReviewMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Fan M, Zhang X, Song H et al.DOI: 10.3390/molecules28135022
Taraxacum: A Review of Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Activity.ReviewThe American journal of Chinese medicine · 2024Hao F, Deng X, Yu X et al.DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X24500083
Taraxacum officinale and related species-An ethnopharmacological review and its potential as a commercial medicinal plant.ReviewJournal of ethnopharmacology · 2015Martinez M, Poirrier P, Chamy R et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2015.03.067
Ethnobotany of the genus Taraxacum-Phytochemicals and antimicrobial activity.ReviewPhytotherapy research : PTR · 2018Sharifi-Rad M, Roberts TH, Matthews KR et al.DOI: 10.1002/ptr.6157
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): A Promising Source of Nutritional and Therapeutic Compounds.ReviewRecent advances in food, nutrition & agriculture · 2025Laila U, Kaur J, Sharma K et al.DOI: 10.2174/012772574X293072240217185616
Taraxacum mongolicum total triterpenoids and taraxasterol ameliorate benign prostatic hyperplasia by inhibiting androgen levels, inflammatory responses, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition via the TGFβ1/Smad signalling pathway.Journal of ethnopharmacology · 2025Chen L, Lin M, Wang Y et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2025.119995
Taraxacum--a review on its phytochemical and pharmacological profile.ReviewJournal of ethnopharmacology · 2006Schütz K, Carle R, Schieber ADOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2006.07.021
Four sesquiterpenes isolated from Taraxacum mongolicum.Journal of Asian natural products research · 2023Liu JB, Xie J, Wang HQ et al.DOI: 10.1080/10286020.2023.2197225

via PubMed

~19 min read

Encyclopedic overview

24 sections

Contents

Etymology
Description
Similar plants
Classification
Selected species
Cultivars
History
Ecology
Food for wildlife
Seeds
Nectar
Leaves
As invasive species
Cultivation
In food
Dye
Allergies
Herbalism
Benefits to gardeners{{anchor|Invasive species|Benefits to gardeners|Beneficial weed}}
Cultural importance
Inspiration for engineering
As a source of natural rubber
References
External links

thumb|Dandelion bilobed stigma bearing pollen

Taraxacum () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribution, absent only from tropical and polar areas. Two of the most common species worldwide, T. officinale (the common dandelion) and T. erythrospermum (the red-seeded dandelion), are European species introduced into North America, where they are non-native. Dandelions thrive in temperate regions and can be found in yards, gardens, sides of roads, among crops, and in many other habitats.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Taraxacum” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.