Taraxacum arcticum, the arctic dandelion, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Asteraceae.[1] Its native range is Greenland, Northern Europe, Northern Asia and the Northern Russian Far East.
Taraxacum arcticum is a moderately long-lived perennial with a whitish taproot and a rosette of five to eight green leaves, sometimes growing solitarily and sometimes somewhat matted. The leaves are 5to long and 1to wide, and have several deep lobes and a long triangular final lobe. The inflorescences grow direct from the rosette, each with a long pinkish stem that often curves downwards and has transverse wrinkles. Each flowering stem bears a single flower head consisting of multiple florets which are bisexual; the ligules are white or creamy-white and have a purple streak on the underside. The brownish-black fruits have a number of shallow ridges and are capped by white pappi which form parachutes.
Taraxacum arcticum mainly occurs in the arctic regions of northern Europe and Asia. Its range extends from northern Greenland and Svalbard to the Chukchi Peninsula in northeastern Siberia. It grows in damp meadows and on heaths, on level or sloping land, often in positions with early snow protection or enriched with bird droppings. It grows in acid, neutral or alkaline soils.[2]