BY MOYA ANDREWS Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are perennial weeds, with long-lived seeds and deep taproots, found everywhere in the world except in arctic regions. Nearly everybody knows their name, and they are one of the first flowers children pick. But despite, or perhaps because of, their familiarity, they do not garner much respect. Yet they are forgiving, versatile, persistent, and durable. If they are mowed down, they just shoot back up. They increase and bloom throughout the year, but in the spring they are most noticeable on lawns. Their cheerful flowers, like discs of compressed sunshine, are followed by spherical heads that are efficient seed dispersers. The seeds from European dandelions were transported by colonists across the Atlantic Ocean during [...]
