Size: 12 inches tall, 6-16 inches wide Where It Grows: Lawns and gardens in sun or shade Appearance: This common lawn weed has a long taproot with deeply notched leaves. Yellow flowers mature into puffballs. Dandelion seeds are like parachutes that fly away in the wind, helping them invade new spaces in lawns and garden beds.

Depending on several conditions, dandelions can grow as high as 25-30 cm.

In general, the leaves are 50–250 mm (2–10 in) long or longer, simple, lobed-to-pinnatisect, and form a basal rosette above the central taproot. The flower heads are yellow to orange coloured, and are open in the daytime, but closed at night.

The common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a perennial plant--most would say a weed--with long, deeply toothed green leaves growing in a low rosette around tall, hollow milky stems which bear a shaggy, cheery yellow flower head.