The flower with the heart of a lion

AS the daffodils fade, their golden crown is passed to another bloom that bursts through cracks in pavements and luxuriates on lawns. The dazzling yellow mop heads of dandelions might not always be welcome, but their cheery loveliness cannot be denied (In the Garden, February 10).

With a name derived from the French , after their jagged-toothed foliage, the taxonomy of (agg) is far from simple. Although easily identified as a genus, there are at least), which tend to grow in the North; small ones, such as the ruddy dandelion in the group, with deeply dissected leaves and tiny flowerheads; and , with their hook-shaped leaf lobes, which mostly grow on waste ground. Some, such as Bertha’s dandelion, are so rare that they have been red listed. Most will grow anywhere, but their absolute favourite place is a road verge next to roaring traffic—this accounts for at least 30 species.