Common Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
Found in lawns, roadsides, urban areas, pastures, disturbed areas, trailsides, less commonly in a variety of less disturbed habitats. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 2–6 inches
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- January to December
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 105 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
82CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Taraxacum
- Abagrotis magnicupidaOne-Dotted Dart
- Agnorisma badinodisPale-Banded Dart
- Agrotis vetustaOld Man Dart
- Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
- Anicla illapsaSnowy Dart
- Apamea sordensBordered Apamea, Rustic Shoulder-Knot
- Apantesis annaAnna Tiger Moth
- Apantesis argeArge Tiger Moth
- Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
- Apantesis partheniceParthenice Tiger Moth
Show all 82
- Apantesis phalerataHarnessed Moth
- Apantesis placentiaPlacentia Tiger Moth
- Apantesis virgoVirgin Tiger Moth
- Apantesis virgunculaLittle Tiger Moth
- Apantesis vittataBanded Tiger Moth
- Arctia parthenosSt. Lawrence Tiger Moth
- Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
- Cerastis tenebriferaReddish Speckled Dart
- Choephora fungorumBent-Line Dart
- Chytolita morbidalisMorbid Owlet
- Clepsis persicanaWhite Triangle Tortrix
- Diarsia jucundaSmaller Pinkish Dart
- Elaphria chalcedoniaChalcedony Midget
- Elaphria grataGrateful Midget
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Eusarca confusariaConfused Eusarca
- Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Homorthodes furfurataNorthern Scurfy Quaker
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Hyppa xylinoidesCommon Hyppa
- Idaea furciferataNotch-Winged Wave
- Idaea obfusariaRippled Wave
- Lacanobia subjunctaSpeckled Arches, Subdues Arches, Harnessed Mamestra, Speckled Cutworm Moth, Grand Arches?(incorrectly)
- Lacinipolia explicataExplicit Groundcat, Explicit Arches
- Lacinipolia implicataImplicit Arches
- Lacinipolia laudabilisLaudable Arches, Laudable Mamestra
- Lacinipolia loreaBridled Arches, Bridle Groundcat
- Lacinipolia lustralisLustral "Mamestra"
- Lacinipolia meditataThe Thinker
- Lacinipolia olivaceaOlive Arches, Olive Groundcat
- Lacinipolia renigeraBristly Ground Cat, Bristly Cutworm Moth, Kidney Spotted "Mamestra"
- Lacinipolia vicinaAllied Mamestra, Neighborly Arches
- Leuconycta lepidulaMarble-Green Jaspidia, Marble-Green Leuconycta
- Manduca quinquemaculatusFive-Spotted Hawkmoth, Tomato Hornworm
- Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
- Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Nephelodes miniansBronzed Cutworm
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthodes cynicaCynical Quaker, Cynical Groundcat
- Orthodes detractaDisparaged Arches, Disparaged Groundcat
- Orthodes majusculaRustic Quaker, Rustic Groundcat
- Pagara simplexMouse-Colored Lichen Moth
- Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
- Phalaenostola metonalisPale Epidelta, Pale Phalaenostola
- Phlogophora irisOlive Angle Shades
- Protolampra brunneicollisBrown-Collared Dart
- Proxenus mirandaMiranda Moth, Glistening Rustic
- Pseudohermonassa bicarneaPink-Spotted Dart
- Pseudorthodes vecorsSmall Brown Quaker, Small Brown Groundcat
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Scopula cacuminariaFrosted Tan Wave
- Scopula limboundataLarge Lace-Border
- Sideridis roseaThe Rosewing
- Spilosoma congruaAgreeable Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma latipennisPink-Legged Tiger Moth
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
- Tricholita signataSignate Quaker, Signate Groundcat
- Trichoplusia niNi Moth, Cabbage Looper Moth
- Trichopolia oviducaRuddy Quaker
- Virbia aurantiacaOrange Virbia, Orange Holomelina
- Virbia ferruginosaRusty Holomelina, Rusty Virbia
- Virbia laetaJoyful Virbia, Joyful Holomelina
- Virbia opellaTawny Virbia, Tawny Holomelina
- Xanthorhoe ferrugataRed Twin-Spot, Twin-Spot Carpet
- Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
5Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Taraxacum
- Andrena chromotricha
- Andrena krigiana
- Colletes rufocinctus
- Protandrena aestivalis
- Protandrena piercei
12BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Taraxacum
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Branta canadensisCanada Goose
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
Show all 12
- Tympanuchus phasianellusSharp-tailed Grouse
- Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Single crown
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “January to December” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “2–6 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers differ)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · USDA PLANTS
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications