146 THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 
“Marian, Marian, what’s the time of, day, 
One o'clock, two o’clock, it’s time we were away.” 
It is the Thistle which is the emblem of Scotland, 
as the Rose is of England, the Leek of Wales, 
Shamrock of Ireland. 
DANDELION (Taraxacum officinale). 
The name Dandelion is derived from the French 
dent-de-lion, and the former generic name Leontodon 
is a variation of this, lion’s tooth, in allusion to 
the form of the leaf segments, which have a very 
characteristic shape. 
The Latin name (first) refers to its effects as a 
medicine (tarasso, disturb). It has been used as a 
good spinach in the spring, and is still a pot-herb 
in the garden. 
So common a plant as Dandelion needs little 
description, for it is known by all. 
The Dandelion is universal. It, however, prefers 
apparently open ground, such as cultivated land, 
being a succulent plant, with a thick milky tap root, 
and is most luxuriant in gardens and where grass 
does not compete with it. But it is also a feature of 
our meadows in spring and summer, making them 
golden with its large and profuse bloom. It is very 
variable. Smaller forms grow on dry and wet soil 
respectively. 7 
The stems are all scapes, bearing flowers. The 
leaves are radical, and the plant has the rosette 
