Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
![Print Fact Sheet](fs_images/print.png)
Taraxacum aristum
Mountain Dandelion
Asteraceae
Open forest, woodland, and grassland, mainly in subalpine areas. ACT, the mountains to the west, and Kosciuszko National Park.
Perennial herb to 0.3 m high at the seeding stage (to 0.2 m high in flower). Flower stalks white-woolly in bud, hairless at flowering. Leaves in a basal rosette, 8-26 cm long, 8-25 mm wide, often more or less entire, sometimes dissected with 6–8 blunt lobes on each side, midribs green or purple. Leaf stalks narrowly winged, often purple at the base. Flower heads 15-20 mm in diameter, with many lemon yellow 'petals'. Flower heads behind the 'petals' oblong-bell-shaped. Bracts appressed to the flower head with narrow white borders and fringed margins, and a small dark hard blunt tip. Flowers Dec.–Mar. Seeds 4–6 mm long, yellow-brown, dark grey, or red to reddish brown or blackish-purple.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
Rare Vic.
VICFLORA description: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/ece0231b-71e9-4fc0-968f-bdd1d940bfa1 (accessed 3 May 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application: