A flowering dandelion.
The flower matures into a globe of fine filaments that are usually distributed by wind, carrying away the seed-containing achenes . This globe (receptacle ) is called the "dandelion clock", and blowing it apart is a popular pastime for children. In German it's called a Pusteblume, translated as "blow flower". The number of blows required to completely rid the clock of its seeds is deemed to be the time of day.
Seeds
A dandelion clock.
The flower head is surrounded by bracts (sometimes mistakenly called sepals ) in two series. The inner bracts are erect until the seeds mature, then flex down to allow the seeds to disperse; the outer bracts are always reflexed downward. Some species drop the "parachute" (called a pappus , modified sepals) from the achenes. Between the pappus and the achene, there is a stalk called beak , which elongates as the fruit matures. The beak breaks off from the achene quite easily.
Name
Macro photo of dandelion clock
The name dandelion is derived from the Old French, dent-de-lion, which is literally "lion's tooth", referring to the sharply-lobed leaves of the plant. The English spelling reflects the French pronunciation at the time this French word was absorbed into English. The first written usage of the word occurs in an "herbal " dated 1373, but there is a 1363 document in which the word "dandelion" was used as a proper name (Willelmus Dawndelyon).
In German, the dandelion is called Löwenzahn, which is also translated as "lion's tooth." In modern French the plant is called pissenlit, which means "urinate in bed", apparently referring to its diuretic properties. Likewise, "pissabeds " is an English folkname for this plant, and "piscialletto" is one of its folknames in Italian (with "dente di leone", meaning "lion's tooth"). Similarly in Spanish, it is known as the "meacamas", but also commonly "diente de león".
source : hydroponicsearch
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