Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Dandelion thrives in temperate regions and exists on playing fields, gardens, and lawns. It has yellow flower heads, that turn into fluffy white balls and disperse in the wind.

Dandelion is often mistaken for a number weeds such as Catsear, and in its vegetative stages as Capeweed.

Dandelion is a perennial herb with a deep tap root. It has dark green, spear-shaped leaves. These leaves are lobed, hairless or have only a few hairs, and are 5 to 45 cm long. The lobes nearly always point backwards toward the crown, and give the leaves the appearance of pruning saw teeth.

The stems are either smooth or have a few short hairs. If you break the stem, Dandelions exude a milky white sap, and the leaves are all basal. A single flower head is present on each stem.

In good conditions, a plant produces 50 to 150 seed heads in a year with an average of 250 seeds per head.

Most new seedlings appear in early to mid-Summer. This is shortly after the majority of seed production that happens in late Spring. These seeds are grey-white, fluffy and spherical. Wind is how most of the seeds move and they germinate almost all the year-round.

People often use the leaves, stems, flowers, and roots for medicinal purposes.

Dandelion is classed as an environmental weed in Australia.

Once you read this, you will be able to:

• Identify Dandelion.
• Know its habitat.
• Know the best cultural and chemical options to control Dandelion.

Dandelion is a good indicator weed of soils low in Ca and high in K. More information on common turfgrass weeds is in our weed ID chart.

The distribution map for Dandelion is courtesy of The Atlas of Living Australia.

How to Identify Dandelions.

If Dandelion is not widespread, you can remove it by hand. However, you must completely remove the root system to prevent any re-growth. It does not normally reproduce vegetatively, but even small root fragments will grow into new plants.

Limiting potassium fertilizer also helps control this weed. Grass outcompetes it for for potassium, and this competitive advantage means that if you limit K supply, the grass wins.

Avoid heavy use of lime, as heavy lime use favours Dandelions due to their preference for soil pH above 7.

One last point is be aware that seeds can last 1 to 5 years in the soil.

Being a perennial, Dandelions are not controlled effectively when you mow, so they generally require treating with an herbicide.