Taraxacum officinale

Native to Macaronesia, northwestern Africa, and from Europe to Siberia, this perennial herb in the daisy family has a deep taproot and a rosette of deeply toothed leaves. Yellow flower heads rise on hollow, leafless stalks and provide nectar and pollen for bees. The fluffy seed heads disperse by wind, and broken roots can regrow. Young leaves are eaten in salads, older leaves are cooked, and roasted roots serve as a coffee substitute. Its milky sap can irritate skin. It has naturalized in Colombia at about 3,600 to 14,100 feet and is invasive on South Georgia in the South Atlantic. Photographed in Colombia.