White-flowering Korean dandelion (Taraxacum coreanum) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

White-flowering Korean dandelion is a native to Korea and nearby northeastern Asia. Its white to very pale yellow flower heads stand out from the yellow dandelions familiar in U.S. lawns. It is not known to grow wild in the United States.

Appearance

Appearance: The outer below the flower head stay mostly pressed upward and often have a small hornlike tip.
Growth form: It is a perennial with a of deeply cut leaves and leafless flower stalks.
Leaves: The narrow leaves are deeply divided into several pointed side lobes.
Flowers: The flower head is about 1–1.4 in (2.5–3.5 cm) wide and white to very pale yellow. The outer flowers may show purplish-gray stripes on their undersides.
Fruit: Each small fruit has a long beak and a pale tuft that helps it travel on the wind.

Look-alikes

common dandelionTaraxacum officinale

Common dandelion has bright yellow flower heads and its outer bracts bend sharply downward. White-flowering Korean dandelion has white to cream flowers and outer bracts that stay mostly upward.

Why they get mixed upBoth form low leaf rosettes, hollow flower stalks, and round seed heads.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: roadsides
grasslands
disturbed open ground
Range: It is native to Korea, northeastern China, and the southern Russian Far East; it is not known to grow wild in the United States.
Preferred conditions: It grows in open temperate habitats, including places shaped by regular human activity.

Life cycle

Reproduction: It usually makes seeds without fertilization; occasional sexual reproduction has been suggested but is not firmly established.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

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