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Notes -
Why are dandelions so prevalent in cities, in absolute terms as well as in comparison to other weeds?
I spent a good part of saturday clearing dandelions out of my parents-in-law's small garden. Not a lot of surface area, but I ended up with buckets full of roots, stems and leaves, and my daughter got to play copiously with the white fluffy seed things. Dandelions are great. Fun to look at, fun to play with, fun to commit localized genocide upon, and they always come back.
So it's not just in the city.
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Dandelions are a pioneer species, meaning they’re prolific breeders with high pollution resistance which spread easily and do best in disturbed environments.
Mowed lawns, roadsides, parks- these are disturbed environments exposed to the elements and with some level of pollution. That tends to suppress non-dandelion species more than dandelions, as well as make an inviting environment for dandelions. Where I live it’s common to have unmowed areas where bluebonnets are known to grow; the relative lack of disturbance for part of the year actually results in fewer dandelions.
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