They're a home owner's nemesis and a young kid's delight. Whether they're yellow flowers dotting an otherwise perfect lawn or white puffs ready to be blown away by a sudden gust, dandelions are either hated or loved by just about everybody. What looks like a single yellow flower growing in your lawn is actually many flowers grouped together. Each section of the flower that looks like a petal is actually an individual flower in its own right.
蒲公英是房子主人的克星，卻能給孩子們帶來歡樂。無論是點綴在完美的草坪上的黃色花朵，還是忽然一陣風刮來就會被吹走的純白蓬松的果實，蒲公英讓每個人又愛又恨。蒲公英黃色的花朵看上去像是一朵，但實際上是許多花朵的組合。那些看起來類似花瓣的部分，實際上都是一朵獨立的花。
A dandelion is an aggregate of many small flowers and each individual flower has its own stamens and pistil, and therefore can reproduce without fertilization. After a dandelion has bloomed, each of the individual flowers within a single dandelion forms a seed. The seed is attached to fluffy white threads, which allow the seed to fly to a place where, if it meets favorable conditions, it can germinate to create another dandelion. Even if you hate this common weed, you've got to respect its tenacious spirit.
蒲公英是許多小小花朵的集合，且每朵花都有自己的雄蕊和雌蕊。蒲公英綻放之后，每個單獨的花朵內都會形成種子。種子就是那毛茸茸的白色線球，這樣種子能隨風飛到別處，如何遇到適宜的環境，它就能發芽，長成另一株蒲公英。即使你討厭這種普通的植物，但必須尊重它頑強的精神。
Dandelions are native to six continents, and are found throughout the world except in the tropics. Their impressive roots, which can be up to a foot long, allow them to thrive in inhospitable environments, like big cities, where most flowers and weeds can't even survive.
蒲公英原產于六個大陸，除了熱帶，世界的任何地方都能找到它們的身影。令人驚嘆的是，它們的根部長達一英尺，這樣的根部使它們能在荒涼的環境中茁壯成長，例如不適合許多花草生存的大城市。
Cut off a dandelion at the surface and the root will grow another plant. But dandelions aren't just annoying weeds; they've been used throughout history in a variety of ways. Dandelion leaves have been eaten as salad greens and dried to make dandelion tea; and dandelion flowers have been used to make wine and schnapps. In addition, the milky juice of one kind of dandelion has been used to make a natural rubber.
將蒲公英的表面或者根部切斷，就會重新長出一株蒲公英來。然而，蒲公英并不是令人頭疼的雜草。歷史上有各種關于食用蒲公英的記載。蒲公英的葉子可做成沙拉食用，也可曬干用來泡茶。蒲公英的花朵能用來釀葡萄酒和松子酒。此外，有一種蒲公英的白色汁液可用來制作天然橡膠。
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