Taraxacum kok-saghyz

Taraxacum kok-saghyz, often abbreviated as TKS and commonly referred to as the Kazakh dandelion, rubber root, or Russian dandelion, is a species of dandelion native to Kazakhstan that is notable for its production of high quality rubber.T. kok-saghyz was discovered in Kazakhstan in 1932 by the Soviet Union in an effort to find a domestic source of rubber.

Etymology

Kok-saghyz is derived from the Kazakh kok-saghyz, with kok meaning plant and saghyz meaning rubber or gum.

Description

Taraxacum kok-saghyz is a perennial plant with a yellow composite flower characteristic of the Taraxacum genus. Each flower head may be approximately one inch in diameter and be made up for 50 to 90 florets. Plants may contain 25 to 50 leaves arranged in one or more rosettes at the upper end of the root. Taraxacum kok-saghyz can be differentiated from the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) by its generally smaller, grayish green leaves and hornlike structures on the bracts surrounding the bud. Flowers are hermaphrodite, insect-pollinated (entomophilous) and are on stalks that reach about a foot in height. Taraxacum kok-saghyz is usually in flower from May through June, with seeds ripening from June through July.