common dandelion
Taraxacum officinale                                     

Identifying Characteristics:

Seed:  kridged longitudinally, nutlet enclosing achene, white pappus, hairlike

Seedling:  rosette of basal leaves, attached to crown

Mature Plant:  fibrous roots from deep, thick, fleshy taproots, contain milky sap; erect stem scape from a rosette, containing milky sap; basal rosette leaves, narrow pinnatifid, deeply notched with retrorsely pointed lobes;  large inflorescences, ray florets orange-yellow, surrounded by narrow-pointed bracts, on a scape

Method of Propagation: seed

Life Cycle: winter annual or perennial herb

References: 
Bryson, Charles T. & Michael S DeFelice. "Weeds of the South."