The Dandelion, of the genus Taraxacum and the class Magnoliopsida is a close relative of the Sunflower. The name, Dandelion comes from the French phrase for ¡¥Teeth of Lion¡¦, dent de lion, due to the likeness of the shape of the plant¡¦s leaves and a lion¡¦s canine teeth, whilst its generic name, Taraxacum Officinale was influenced by the plant¡¦s many medical properties. Taraxacum meaning ¡¥disorder-remedy¡¦ and Officinale, stating that the plant has medicinal attributes. Other popular names for
attachments are somewhat fanciful to the resemblance of the canine teeth of a lion, giving the plant its most familiar name of "Dandelion," (AAE, 1995) Dandelions, known to the botanist as Taraxacum officinale, are classified in the Composite (Compositae) family of flowering plants. The genus name, Taraxacum is derived from the Persian word for "bitter herb," (Myer, 1994). Accompanying the golden ruse of the dandelion are the daisies, aster, sunflowers, goldenrod, Joe Pye weed and many other wildflowers
discovered in medieval Persia in the 10th or 11th century, and have been used in Chinese traditional medicine for over a thousand years. Taraxacum officinale is the most common form of dandelion. There are a few other variations of dandelion, like Taraxacum albidum, a white-flowering Japanese dandelion, Taraxacum californicum, the endangered California dandelion, and Taraxacum kok-saghyz, a Russian dandelion which produces rubber. Dandelion is edible, so it was first used for food. The Chinese discovered