Taraxacum platycarpum aka Korean Dandelion

Taraxacum platycarpum belongs to the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is a perennial, so it lives for several years. Its native range includes Korea and Honshu in Japan. Kew places it in the temperate climate zone. Plants For A Future gives its height as 1 foot [0.3 metres]. It grows in sunny places where people disturb the ground. These sites include roadsides and the edges of farm fields. Its known sites lie below 1,640 feet [500 metres] in elevation.

It flowers from March through May. Each flower has both male and female organs. Insects pollinate the flowers. The plant is self-fertile: it can set seed with its own pollen. The supplied species account does not describe flower colour or fruit. Nor does it give leaf shape or stem form. Its notes on how to grow new plants mention a taproot. The account gives no mature spread or time to full size.

Plants For A Future lists sand, loam and clay as suitable soils. It says the plant prefers moist soil that drains well. It can grow in full sun or light shade. The listed soils range from mildly acid to mildly alkaline. The source lists garden beds as places to grow it. It gives no firm hardiness rating for Britain. Its wider growing notes draw on the genus. They do not draw on confirmed trials of this species. Those notes do not prove how much cold this species can bear.

Records show food use for leaves, both raw and cooked. Plants For A Future rates its edibility one out of five. It suggests more food uses but lacks records for this species. These include eating roots and flowers. They also include making tea or a drink to replace coffee. These uses remain less certain than the use of leaves. The source lists no known hazards. This does not mean the plant is wholly safe. It records no use as medicine or other uses beyond food.

The guide says to sow seeds in spring in a cold frame. Leave seeds on top or add a thin cover of compost. Keep the compost moist while the seeds sprout. The source expects seeds to sprout within about two weeks. Move each seedling to its own deep pot when large enough to handle. Set them out in early summer. The guide also lists division in early spring, as growth starts again.