Taraxacum officinale is native to Europe and Asia, and was originally imported to America as a food crop.
It is now naturalized throughout North America, southern Africa, South America, New Zealand, Australia, and India.
It occurs in all 50 states of the US and most Canadian provinces.
It is considered a noxious weed in some jurisdictions, and is considered to be a nuisance in residential and recreational lawns in North America.
 It is also an important weed in agriculture and causes significant economic damage because of its infestation in many crops worldwide.

T. officinale can serve as an indicator plant for soil potassium and calcium, as the plant favours soils deficient in the latter but rich in the former.

The dandelion is a common colonizer of disturbed habitats, both from wind blown seeds and seed germination from the seed bank.
The seeds remain viable in the seed bank for many years, with one study showing germination after nine years.
 This species is a somewhat prolific seed producer, with 54 to 172 seeds produced per head, and a single plant can produce more than 5,000 seeds a year.
It is estimated that more than 97,000,000 seeds/hectare could be produced yearly by a dense stand of dandelions.
When released, the seeds can be spread by the wind up to several hundred meters from their source.
The seeds are also a common contaminant in crop and forage seeds.
The plants are adaptable to most soils and the seeds are not dependent on cold temperatures before they will germinate but they need to be within the top 2.5 cm (1 in) of soil.

T. officinale is food for the caterpillars of several Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), such as the tortrix moth Celypha rufana.
See also List of Lepidoptera that feed on dandelions.

Even though dandelion pollen is of poor nutritional quality for honey bees, they readily consume it, and it can be an important source of nutritional diversity in heavily managed monocultures such as that of blueberries.
Honey bees have not been shown to lower their pollination activity on nearby fruit crops when foraging on dandelions.

While not in bloom, this species is sometimes confused with others, such as Chondrilla juncea, that have similar basal rosettes of foliage.
Another plant, sometimes referred to as fall dandelion, is very similar to dandelion, but produces "yellow fields" later.
Its blooms resemble some of the species of Sonchus, but are larger.
Taraxacum officinale is native to Europe and Asia, and was originally imported to America as a food crop. It is now naturalized throughout North America, southern Africa, South America, New Zealand, Australia, and India. It occurs in all 50 states of the US and most Canadian provinces. It is considered a noxious weed in some jurisdictions, and is considered to be a nuisance in residential and recreational lawns in North America.  It is also an important weed in agriculture and causes significant economic damage because of its infestation in many crops worldwide.
T. officinale can serve as an indicator plant for soil potassium and calcium, as the plant favours soils deficient in the latter but rich in the former.
The dandelion is a common colonizer of disturbed habitats, both from wind blown seeds and seed germination from the seed bank. The seeds remain viable in the seed bank for many years, with one study showing germination after nine years.  This species is a somewhat prolific seed producer, with 54 to 172 seeds produced per head, and a single plant can produce more than 5,000 seeds a year. It is estimated that more than 97,000,000 seeds/hectare could be produced yearly by a dense stand of dandelions. When released, the seeds can be spread by the wind up to several hundred meters from their source. The seeds are also a common contaminant in crop and forage seeds. The plants are adaptable to most soils and the seeds are not dependent on cold temperatures before they will germinate but they need to be within the top 2.5 cm (1 in) of soil.
T. officinale is food for the caterpillars of several Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), such as the tortrix moth Celypha rufana. See also List of Lepidoptera that feed on dandelions.
Even though dandelion pollen is of poor nutritional quality for honey bees, they readily consume it, and it can be an important source of nutritional diversity in heavily managed monocultures such as that of blueberries. Honey bees have not been shown to lower their pollination activity on nearby fruit crops when foraging on dandelions.
While not in bloom, this species is sometimes confused with others, such as Chondrilla juncea, that have similar basal rosettes of foliage. Another plant, sometimes referred to as fall dandelion, is very similar to dandelion, but produces "yellow fields" later. Its blooms resemble some of the species of Sonchus, but are larger.
Taraxacum officinale