To many people, the dandelion is a pernicious weed.   First one makes its way into your garden, but then due to its reproductive capacity - there are dozens.  Each flower stalk may produce up to 200 seeds with their characteristic parachute for dispersal.  A plant may produce 10 or so flower stalks, so that it is a lot of seeds from a single plant.  Once the seeds  disperse and germinate, they produce a significant tap root which grows down into the soil seeking water and minerals.  The seedlings can survive in inhospitable places, like the cracks between street paving stones or on your drive. As the seeds are wind blown, they may travel considerable distances with the aid of their ‘parachutes'.  However, changes in agriculture, increasing use of herbicides etc have meant that countryside populations of dandelions have diminished.  This has affected the insects that feed upon the dandelions' nectar and pollen.  As the number of these insects falls, it affects the seed production of other plants that these insects visit. Interestingly, urban dandelions seem to benefit from the heat island effect in cities.  A city may be some 2oC warmer than its surrounding countryside, more so in the summer.   Dandelions seem to thrive in the heat, growing more rapidly than their 'rural cousins'.  Urban warmth also means that the plants can begin to flower soon after a milder and shorter winter, whereas other plants struggle to adapt to changing environmental signals.   The urban  dandelions provide a 'feast' for insects in early Spring when resources are limited.  Urban meadows can provide 90% of the nectar for pollinators, and 80% of the pollen. These provide sugars and proteins / amino acids for some 200 species of pollinators [ solitary bees, mining bees, bumble bees, hover flies and pollen beetles].  The gifts of the dandelions are helping many struggling insect populations. Interesting fact : Dandelions often reproduce by a sort of sub-sexual system (termed apomixis) that has resulted in some 200+ microspecies in the U.K.  These have been studied by Professor John Richards for some 40 years.  The species name Taraxacum officinale has a gg. (for aggregate) added to it - in recognition of all the variations of the plant that can be found.  Thanks to Angus for images. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum officinale  

Insect pollinators are currently in decline.  This is, in part, due to the loss of habitats and foraging resources for pollen and nectar.  Pesticides, like the neonicotinoids, don’t help. Lawns and pollinators. “No mow May” has been promoted by Plantlife to  provide a feast for pollinators,  tackle pollution,  reduce urban heat extremes, and  lock away atmospheric carbon Lawns in gardens, parks, recreation grounds etc. represent a significant proportion of green space in cities, towns and villages. If these spaces and suburban lawns are managed with pollinators in mind, then they could become an important source of foraging resources.  Now, there is evidence accumulating that this is the case.  A  recent study used the lawns at Ministry of Justice prison and court sites.   Each site contained four patches,  A patch mown as normal every two weeks - the control  A patch mown every 4 weeks A patch mown every 6 weeks A patch mown every 12 weeks Weekly surveys of pollinators and flowering plants were made throughout June to late August. Butterflies, bees, bumblebees, hoverflies and beetles were recorded as pollinators.   The patches that were mowed less frequently (6 and 12 weeks) had many more pollinators [in fact 170% higher than the 2 week patch], and more flowers.  The most common plants recorded included selfheal, daisy, dandelion, creeping buttercup, and white clover.  Apart from the increase in biodiversity, the patches were ‘visually pleasant’, contributing to the wellbeing of staff / prisoners and saved on lawnmower fuel (cost). Details of the study : https://conservationevidencejournal.com/reference/pdf/12801 Farms and Pollinators. Farms and their crops, such as clover and oil seed rape, can offer a rich supply of pollen and nectar to pollinators.    The ‘richness’ of this supply can draw pollinators away from more natural areas.  However, the pollinators can go from ‘feast to famine’, when the crop has finished flowering.   A Swedish study has followed the behaviour of farmland pollinators after clover flowering.  They found that if natural areas were available after the flowering of the clover, then pollinators [like different bumble bee species] became more selective in their foraging.  This reduces the intensity of competition between the various pollinator species.  Areas of natural vegetation on farmland are therefore important in helping pollinators adapt after crops (such as clover) have finished flowering. [caption id="attachment_33904" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Oilseed rape[/caption] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880924005735?via=ihub Gardens and pollinators. A study In the Boston area of the US has revealed that small gardens with a diverse range of plants are important to pollinators.  The researchers first used Google Street View to identify and categorise some 86,000 front gardens (or yards, in their terminology) across the area - ranging from lawns to diverse flower gardens. They then visited 500+ of these gardens when the plants were flowering [in 2021], identifying and documenting the plants in each.   The found that : Whilst the higher income areas tended to have more cultivated flower gardens, these gardens were home fewer wild flower (weed) species. Small gardens often had the richest diversity of plants in flower as compared to those with lawns. The authors of the study conclude “Dense urban areas are a promising target for pollinator conservation.” Detail of this study can be found here : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169204624002706?via=ihub  

For some ten years now , the BSBI has organised the New Year Plant Hunt.  Each ‘hunt’ has involved people looking to see which plants are in flower during the first few days of the New Year.  The volunteers ‘hunt’ for wild flowers in their area for about three hours; and send the results to the BSBI. By doing this, the volunteers are helping build a clearer picture of how our wildflowers are responding to changes in our autumn and winter weather patterns. Read more...

In recent years, the BSBI has conducted a plant hunt to see which plants are in bloom at the start of the New Year -  across the U.K.   Some 612 different species were recorded in flower this year (compared to 368 species last year), but the most commonly recorded species in flower were daisies and dandelions.  Dandelions are deep rooted, perennial plants; they are native to most temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere, though they have spread to many other places.  The dandelion genus, Taraxacum,  contains a number of species but Taraxacum officinale is probably the most common. Dandelions are to be found in lawns, on roadsides, on disturbed banks, river banks and other areas with moist soils - they are often regarded as pernicious weeds.  Young plants can grow with considerable force, and make their way through surface like asphalt.  Dandelions often reproduce by apomixis - a sort of sub-sexual system that has resulted in some 200+ microspecies in the U.K.   Many of these have been recognised and classified by Professor John Richards.   Read more...

Nature is the biggest public clock, but it operates in ways that contrast with our rather industrialised way of measuring time.  Nature's time is seasonal and much less uniform than the digital clock but it is also more forgiving.  Things happen in a woodland when the time is right, rather than as a result of man-made regulation, and this very "natural" sense of time is what many people like about being in woodlands.  Owners often tell us about how their woodland is an escape from modern life but it is particularly the escape from being a slave to clock-time which comes across most strongly.  This enjoyment is of course linked to taking "time out" - it is a good thing to take time off work but it is a further escape to get away from being organised according to the clock. Read more...