Double flower mystery
 

Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

Double flower mystery
 

On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?


A dandylion flower is in fact a head of flowers, consisting of a large
ni#umber of florets, each of which is in fact a flower.
I like the description of a dandylion flower as the sun when in flower,
the moon when a seed head and the stars when the seeds are blowing around.
David @ a sunny side of Swansea Bay most of the day.

Double flower mystery
 

On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?

What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion
or a variegated form.
You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around
the world by now we would have some different forms.
David

Double flower mystery
 

On 17/01/2015 17:15, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?


A dandylion flower is in fact a head of flowers, consisting of a large
ni#umber of florets, each of which is in fact a flower.
I like the description of a dandylion flower as the sun when in flower,
the moon when a seed head and the stars when the seeds are blowing around.
David @ a sunny side of Swansea Bay most of the day.


That was quick, David! That explanation certainly accounts for it,
thank you.
Yes, that's a lovely description! I've never heard it before, but I
won't forget it. So apt.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

Double flower mystery
 

On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?

What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion
or a variegated form.
You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around
the world by now we would have some different forms.
David


Yes, you're quite right! It's either got very strong yellow genes
(chromosomes?) or it's just never been seen because everyone whips the
head off them whilst still in bud. If they were a bit more reluctant to
grow from seed, they'd probably be encouraged. I think they're very
pretty and I love to see bees on them. I try allowing mine to flower
(to feed the bees) then whip the heads off them before they seed
everywhere.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

Double flower mystery
 

"David Hill" wrote

Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?


A dandylion flower is in fact a head of flowers, consisting of a large
ni#umber of florets, each of which is in fact a flower.
I like the description of a dandylion flower as the sun when in flower, the
moon when a seed head and the stars when the seeds are blowing around.


Stars are not what I call them when they are blowing onto our plot from
neighbours. :-(

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

Double flower mystery
 

On 17/01/2015 19:41, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 17 Jan 2015 17:33:47 +0000, Spider wrote:

On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?

What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion
or a variegated form.
You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around
the world by now we would have some different forms.
David


Yes, you're quite right! It's either got very strong yellow genes
(chromosomes?) or it's just never been seen because everyone whips the
head off them whilst still in bud. If they were a bit more reluctant to
grow from seed, they'd probably be encouraged. I think they're very
pretty and I love to see bees on them. I try allowing mine to flower
(to feed the bees) then whip the heads off them before they seed
everywhere.

But see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum_albidum

Interesting plant but it it a hybrid form from 2 different varieties of
Taraxacum neither of which grow in this part of the world.
As for most having their heads whiped off whilst still in bud, that is
only for a very small number, round here there are literaly acres of
them growing on roadside verges etc.
David

Double flower mystery
 

On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?

What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion
or a variegated form.
You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around
the world by now we would have some different forms.
David

There are plenty of different forms - 232 (micro)species in the UK alone.

There is a white dandelion. It's called Taraxacum albidum and it grows
in eastern Asia. There is a second white dandelion. It's called
Taraxacum coreanum.

There is a pink dandelion. It's called Taraxacum porphyranthum.

But, yes, Cichorieae is strikingly conservative in flower colour, with
nearly all species having dandelion yellow flowers. Other exceptions
include pink (Crepis rubra, Crepis incana), orange (Pilosella
aurantiaca), purple (Tragopogon porrifolius), blue (Cichorium intybus,
Cicerbita sp., Catananche caerulea, Lactuca biennis, Lactuca perennis,
Lactuca tatarica) and pale yellow (some Sonchus oleraceus).

Taraxacum maculatum probably counts as a variegated dandelion.

More research finds a dandelion with pink and yellow flowers (Taraxacum
pseudoroseum), one with yellow-green variegation on the leaves
(Taraxacum 'White Flash') (and other evidence of variegated sports), and
one with purple foliage (Taraxacum "rubrifolium").

--
SRH

Double flower mystery
 

On 17/01/2015 19:41, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 17 Jan 2015 17:33:47 +0000, Spider wrote:

On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?

What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion
or a variegated form.
You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around
the world by now we would have some different forms.
David


Yes, you're quite right! It's either got very strong yellow genes
(chromosomes?) or it's just never been seen because everyone whips the
head off them whilst still in bud. If they were a bit more reluctant to
grow from seed, they'd probably be encouraged. I think they're very
pretty and I love to see bees on them. I try allowing mine to flower
(to feed the bees) then whip the heads off them before they seed
everywhere.

But see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum_albidum



That's quite pretty. It appears slightly more sophisticated than our
yellow native, somehow. It shows that there is a white gene waiting in
the wings, though. Thanks for that link, Chris. Most interesting.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

Double flower mystery
 

On 17/01/2015 20:05, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 19:41, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 17 Jan 2015 17:33:47 +0000, Spider wrote:

On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very
double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?

What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion
or a variegated form.
You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around
the world by now we would have some different forms.
David


Yes, you're quite right! It's either got very strong yellow genes
(chromosomes?) or it's just never been seen because everyone whips the
head off them whilst still in bud. If they were a bit more reluctant to
grow from seed, they'd probably be encouraged. I think they're very
pretty and I love to see bees on them. I try allowing mine to flower
(to feed the bees) then whip the heads off them before they seed
everywhere.

But see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum_albidum

Interesting plant but it it a hybrid form from 2 different varieties of
Taraxacum neither of which grow in this part of the world.
As for most having their heads whiped off whilst still in bud, that is
only for a very small number, round here there are literaly acres of
them growing on roadside verges etc.
David


There are oodles of them in the fields and countryside up and down the
country, but noone *really* looks at them because a)there are so many,
and b)we're not really interested. The only time we gardeners might
look at a flower close up is in our gardens or, perhaps a nursery. My
deadheading point was intended to explain why we don't see any white
petals in dandelions. We're not looking for them and we're certainly
not trying to breed them white/er, so we miss what may very well be there.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

Double flower mystery
 

In article ,
says...

On 17/01/2015 17:19, David Hill wrote:
On 17/01/2015 16:58, Spider wrote:
Something that has always puzzled me is the way the very double-flowered
dandelion attracts bees and seems to be so good for them. With most
other double flowers, bees gain very little because the many tiny
florets which make up the 'cushion' at the centre of the flower have
been turned to petals by (mostly) breeders or freaks of nature.

Does anyone here with a better grasp of botany have an explanation for
this apparent anomoly?

What I can never understand is why don't we ever see a white dandilion
or a variegated form.
You'd think that with the hundreds of millions of them growing around
the world by now we would have some different forms.
David

There are plenty of different forms - 232 (micro)species in the UK alone.

There is a white dandelion. It's called Taraxacum albidum and it grows
in eastern Asia. There is a second white dandelion. It's called
Taraxacum coreanum.

There is a pink dandelion. It's called Taraxacum porphyranthum.

But, yes, Cichorieae is strikingly conservative in flower colour, with
nearly all species having dandelion yellow flowers. Other exceptions
include pink (Crepis rubra, Crepis incana), orange (Pilosella
aurantiaca), purple (Tragopogon porrifolius), blue (Cichorium intybus,
Cicerbita sp., Catananche caerulea, Lactuca biennis, Lactuca perennis,
Lactuca tatarica) and pale yellow (some Sonchus oleraceus).

Taraxacum maculatum probably counts as a variegated dandelion.

More research finds a dandelion with pink and yellow flowers (Taraxacum
pseudoroseum), one with yellow-green variegation on the leaves
(Taraxacum 'White Flash') (and other evidence of variegated sports), and
one with purple foliage (Taraxacum "rubrifolium").

and see gardeners who grow other dandelions discussing;

http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=5916.0

Janet