Taraxacum officinale
- noun
- /tæˈræksəˌkəm ɒfɪˈsɪnəl/
- Specialized
:
diente de león
- Researchers studied Taraxacum officinale for its potential medicinal properties.
Examples
-
The leaves of Taraxacum officinale are often added to salads for their slightly bitter flavor.
-
The Taraxacum officinale is often found in gardens.
-
In spring, fields are covered with the bright yellow flowers of Taraxacum officinale.
-
Many people consider Taraxacum officinale a nuisance.
-
Many people consider Taraxacum officinale a common weed, but its leaves can be used in salads.
-
In spring, the bright yellow flowers of Taraxacum officinale dot the landscape, attracting bees and butterflies.
-
The roots of Taraxacum officinale are often used to make herbal tea, praised for its health benefits.
Synonyms
22
1.0
A common wild plant with bright yellow flowers and a round puff of seeds
A plant with yellow flowers and jagged leaves often eaten or seen as a weed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The form is a Linnaean binomial (genus + species epithet), so knowing 'Taraxacum' (a plant genus) and 'officinale' (an adjectival epithet indicating medicinal use) lets a learner infer it denotes a medicinal species of that genus — i.e., a specific plant. However, mapping that binomial to the common name 'dandelion' and the fuller cultural/culinary uses requires specialist botanical knowledge, so the relation is only partially predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Taraxacum officinale tells a simple story about the common 'dandelion': Taraxacum may come from a word meaning 'disorder' because people used the plant to help stomach problems, and officinale means it belonged in the old 'medicine shop'. So the name reminds us that the common 'dandelion' was once used as a simple medicine.