Turf Weeds was developed to provide weed management information and newsearch reports to turfgrass managers.  This site contains information on weed identification, chemical and cultural management of weeds, and current topics relevant to weed management in lawns and professional turf.  Turf Weeds was created  by Dr. Shawn Askew, Assistant Professor of Turfgrass Weed Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University.
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Plant Description:
Name:dandelion
Scientific Name:Taraxacum officinale
Family:Asteraceae
Type:Broadleaf
Lifecycle:Perennial
Habit:Germinates or sprouts year round but mainly in fall and spring. Major flower production starts in spring and may last all summer and into fall.
Leaves:May have several shapes but usually have pointed jagged edges and typically lack hairs. When leaves are cut, milky sap exudes from the cut surface.
Leaf Arrangement:Whorled
Characteristics:All plant parts have milky sap. Enlarged taproot on mature plants.
Flower Seed Head:Yellow flowers with numerous petals attached to slender stalks. Flowers soon turn to white puffy balls of seed. A bare knobby stalk often remains when seed are blown away.
Seed Fruit:Seed are light brown and have jagged edges. Each seed is attached to a slender stalk that contains a tuft of hairs on the opposite end.
Where Found:Lawns and waste places. Tolerates mowing.

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