With a name derived from the French dent de lion, after their jagged-toothed foliage, the taxonomy of Taraxacum officinale (agg) is far from simple. Although easily identified as a genus, there are at least 250 recorded species, each with minute differentiations that can confound the most dedicated taraxacologist. This vast population divides into nine groups, including dandelions with spotty leaves (Naevosa), which tend to grow in the North; small ones, such as the ruddy dandelion in the Erythrosperma group, with deeply dissected leaves and tiny flowerheads; and Hamata, with their hook-shaped leaf lobes, which mostly grow on waste ground. Some, such as Bertha’s dandelion, are so rare that they have been red-listed. Most will grow anywhere, but their absolute favourite place is a road verge next to roaring traffic—this accounts for at least 30 species.
Culpeper said if it was consumed in spring, we might “see plainly without... spectacles”
This story is from the May 05, 2021 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 05, 2021 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Put some graphite in your pencil
Once used for daubing sheep, graphite went on to become as valuable as gold and wrote Keswick's place in history. Harry Pearson inhales that freshly sharpened-pencil smell
Dulce et decorum est
Michael Sandle is the Wilfred Owen of art, with his deeply felt sense of the futility of violence. John McEwen traces the career of this extraordinary artist ahead of his 88th birthday
Heaven is a place on earth
For the women of the Bloomsbury group, their country gardens were places of refuge, reflection and inspiration, as well as a means of keeping loved ones close by, discovers Deborah Nicholls-Lee
It's the plants, stupid
I WON my first prize for gardening when I was nine years old at prep school. My grandmother was delighted-it was she who had sent me the seeds of godetia, eschscholtzia and Virginia stock that secured my victory.
Pretty as a picture
The proliferation of honey-coloured stone cottages is part of what makes the Cotswolds so beguiling. Here, we pick some of our favourites currently on the market
Angels in the house
Winged creatures, robed figures and celestial bodies are under threat in a rural church. Jo Caird speaks to the conservators working to save northern Europe's most complete Romanesque wall paintings
There is no sting in this tale
A living prehistoric relic, the scorpion fly is a permanent guest at the ugly-bug ball, says Ian Morton
Blow the froth off
Nodding and waving to passing traffic as it engulfs our roadside verges, exuberant cow parsley is almost unstoppable, says Vicky Liddell, as she takes a closer look at the umbellifer and its sometimes sinister kin
The legacy Isabella Beeton and recipes
MANY of Isabella Beeton’s 900odd recipes were not her own for which modern-day cookery writers have taken her to task—but she is credited as the first to publish them in the clear format (ingredients followed by method, including cooking time, right) that everyone uses today.
Every picture tells a story
As the National Gallery prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary in May, Carla Passino delves into the fascinating history of 10 of its paintings, from artistic triumphs to ugly ducklings and a clever fake