First Dandelion, among Pines. . . (Taraxacum officinale) Bane of suburbia, Native of Europe. They flower
seemingly all together in one of the first yellow waves of spring, usually around the beginning of April.
Their gray fluffy heads of seeds appear in May. The rhythm of the transition is very subtle. It
seems as if if it happens all at once -- that the yellow flowers close one evening, and
then open with their parachute-like seeds fully formed the next morning.
I always think of Walt Whitman's little poem when I see my first one:
The first Danedelion
Simple and fair from winter's close emerging,
Forth from its sunny nook of sheltered grass—
innocent, golden, calm as dawn,
The spring's first dandelion shows its trustful face.
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)