Photo: NY State IPM Program at Cornell University from New York, USA · CC BY 2.0 ↗

WildflowersSeen in the wild

Taraxacum officinale

Dandelion

Golden heads and white seed clocks are familiar on Irish lawns and verges. This entry covers the common dandelion group rather than its difficult microspecies.

See all four seasons Explore fruits, seeds & edibility ↓ Where to look & how to find it ↓

Some plants are poisonous. Do not identify by a photograph alone, and never taste them.

FIELDCRAFT · FIND WITH CARE

Finding guide

Start close to home

Choose the season, find the habitat, then watch patiently. Search guidance is not a measure of rarity or conservation status.

When to go: Often flowers March–October, longer in mild conditions.
Where to start: Less frequently mown grass in Dublin and other Irish parks. This is not a microspecies identification key.
What to do when you arrive: In uncut grass, compare basal toothed leaves, yellow heads and white seed clocks. Check features such as leafless flower stalks visually; this entry does not separate microspecies.

Habitat and behaviour reference: Wildflowers of Ireland ↗ · The practical steps are editorial advice based on the references, not live sightings.

ONE PLANT · FOUR SEASONS

One plant. Four seasons.

Look beyond the flowers: fresh leaves, fruits, bare stems and dormancy.

Meteorological seasons: spring March–May, summer June–August, autumn September–November and winter December–February. Irish weather, cultivar, pruning and plant age affect timing and appearance.

Photos illustrate the relevant feature, not the same plant photographed through a year in Ireland. Features shared across seasons, such as evergreen leaves, may use the same reference. Missing reliable photos are marked; dormancy is not death.

Spring

Mar–May

Flowers

One of the main yellow-flower periods; white seed clocks may already appear in the same patch.

Summer

Jun–Aug

Seeds and spent flowers

Flowers and ripe seed clocks alternate while rosettes remain at ground level.

Autumn

Sep–Nov

Foliage and growth

Rosettes continue growing, with renewed flowers and seeds in mild places.

Winter

Dec–Feb

Foliage and growth

Ground-level leaves often persist with few flowers; white seed clocks are not uniquely a winter feature.

Seasonal references: Wildflowers of Ireland ↗ · Photo resized, converted to JPEG and stripped of metadata.

FRUIT · SEED · FOOD SAFETY

Fruits, seeds & edibility

Know the structure, then the part. Recognising a plant does not make it food.

Fruit

The white clock consists of many cypselae, each with a long beak and a parachute-like pappus.

Food use of this part: Food safety not established by this guide

Seeds & dispersal units

The windborne unit is normally a one-seeded fruit, not a seed removed from its fruit wall.

Food use of this part: Food safety not established by this guide

Some seed references show intact one-seeded fruits or dispersal units, as identified in their captions. A whole-fruit photo is not a close-up of the enclosed seed. Cones and arils are not true fruits of flowering plants.

Sources & limitations

Wildflowers of Ireland ↗ · Botanical description, not proof of food safety
NC State Extension · Plant Toolbox ↗

No field detoxification methods or safe doses are provided. Never taste a plant to identify it or eat treated or contaminated specimens. Seek professional help after suspected accidental ingestion. National Poisons Information Centre, Ireland ↗

Photo resized, converted to JPEG and stripped of metadata.

BOTANICAL NOTESPlant notes

How to identify it

A basal rosette, often with backward-pointing teeth; each unbranched hollow stalk carries one yellow head made entirely of strap-shaped florets. Several other daisies look similar.

Where it grows

Lawns, meadows, verges and disturbed ground.

Growth and ecology

A perennial with wind-dispersed seeds; flowers provide food for early insects.

Flowering and seasons

Often flowers March–October, longer in mild conditions.

Where to look

Less frequently mown grass in Dublin and other Irish parks. This is not a microspecies identification key.

Seasons vary with weather and location. Suggested habitats are places to look, not guaranteed sightings. Photos show only some features; check leaves, flowers, fruits and specialist references together.

Further reading:Wildflowers of Ireland ↗

Photo license: NY State IPM Program at Cornell University from New York, USA · CC BY 2.0 ↗ · License terms ↗
Photo resized, converted to JPEG and stripped of metadata.

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