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This is one of the neatest of the dandelion family. It starts as a low-growing clump of mid-green leaves, which can be harvested as a salad green. These give rise to branched flowering stems with loose, arching flowerheads or 'panicles' of small yellow florets. The rosette leaves are lyre-shaped with lobed teeth, the upper leaves diamond-shaped and toothed. Nipplewort can be either annual or perennial and grows on hedgebanks, road verges, old walls and waste places. The name 'nipplewort', comes from its traditional herbal use, as being good for nursing mothers, nanny goats and dairy cows.
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George Simpson