Running Away by Leif Sohlman

A litle creep trying to escape under the dandelions petals. Photographed outside Enk�pin, Sweden, April 2014. Only the back of the insect is... more

by Leif Sohlman

Title

Running Away by Leif Sohlman

Artist

Leif Sohlman

Medium

Photograph - Photo Photography

Description

A litle creep trying to escape under the dandelions petals. Photographed outside Enk�pin, Sweden, April 2014. Only the back of the insect is seen.
Canon 5D mk III
Taraxacum /təˈr�ksəkʉm/ is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are native to Eurasia and North and South America, and two species, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, are found as weeds worldwide.[2] Both species are edible in their entirety.[3] The common name dandelion (/ˈd�ndɨlaɪ.ən/ DAN-di-ly-ən, from French dent-de-lion, meaning "lion's tooth") is given to members of the genus, and like other members of the Asteraceae family, they have very small flowers collected together into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a floret. Many Taraxacum species produce seeds asexually by apomixis, where the seeds are produced without pollination, resulting in offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant.
The Latin name Taraxacum originates in medieval Persian writings on pharmacy. The Persian scientist Al-Razi around 900 (A.D.) wrote "the tarashaquq is like chicory". The Persian scientist and philosopher Ibn Sīnā around 1000 (A.D.) wrote a book chapter on Taraxacum. Gerard of Cremona, in translating Arabic to Latin around 1170, spelled it tarasacon.[18]

The English name, dandelion, is a corruption of the French dent de lion[19] meaning "lion's tooth", referring to the coarsely toothed leaves. The plant is also known as blowball, cankerwort, doon-head-clock, witch's gowan, milk witch, lion's-tooth, yellow-gowan, Irish daisy, monks-head, priest's-crown and puff-ball;[20] other common names include faceclock, pee-a-bed, wet-a-bed,[21] swine's snout,[22] white endive, and wild endive.[23]

The name "dandelion" is a cognate of the names in many other European languages, such as the Welsh dant y llew, Italian dente di leone, Catalan dent de lle�, Spanish diente de le�n, Portuguese dente-de-le�o, Norwegian L�vetann, Danish L�vetand and German L�wenzahn. The colloquial German word Pusteblume (blow-flower) refers to the children's game of blowing away the seeds of the ripe taraxacum flower.

In modern French, the plant is named pissenlit (or vernacular pisse au lit).[citation needed] Likewise, "piss-a-bed" is an English folk-name for this plant,[24] as are piscialletto in Italian, pixallits in Catalan and meacamas in Spanish.[citation needed] These names refer to the strong diuretic effect of the plant's roots,[24] either roasted or raw. In various north-eastern Italian dialects, the plant is known as pisacan ("dog pisses"), because they are found at the side of pavements.[25]

In France, it is also known as laitue de chien (dog's lettuce), salade de taupe (mole's salad), florin d'or (golden florin); cochet (cockerel); fausse chicor�e (false chicory); couronne de moine (monk's crown); baraban.[citation needed]

In several European languages, the plant, or at least its parachute ball stage, is named after the popular children's pastime of blowing the parachutes off the stalk: Pusteblume German for "blowing flower"), soffione (Italian for "blowing", in some northern Italian dialects),[25] dmuchawiec (Polish, derived from the verb "blow"), одуванчик (Russian, derived from the verb "blow").[citation needed]

In other languages, the plant is named after the white latex found in its stem, e.g., mlecz (derived from the Polish word for "milk"), m�lkeb�tte (Danish for "milk pot"), kutyatej (Hungarian for "dog milk"), маслачак (Serbian, from маслац meaning "butter").[citation needed] The Lithuanian name kiaulpienė can be translated as "sow milk".[citation needed] Similarly, in Latvian it is called pienene, derived from piens ('milk'), as in Catalan is used llets� (derived from the word llet that means "milk").[citation needed]

The alternative Hungarian name gyermekl�ncfű ("child's chain grass") refers to the habit of children to pick dandelions, remove the flowers, and make links out of the stems by "plugging" the narrow top end of the stem into the wider bottom end.[citation needed]

In Bulgarian and Macedonian, its name (respectively глухарче and глуварче) is derived from the word for 'deaf' (глух, глув), because of a traditional belief that dandelion parachutes can cause deafness.

In Turkish, the dandelion is called karahindiba meaning "black endive or chicory".[26] While the root flesh is white, the outer skin of the root is dark brown or black.

In Swedish, it is called maskros ('worm rose') after the small insects (thrips) usually present in the flowers.[27]

In Finnish and Estonian, it is called voikukka and v�ilill, respectively, meaning "butter flower", referring to its buttery colour.[citation needed] Similarly, in Croatian, the name of this plant (maslačak) is derived from the noun maslac, meaning butter.[28]

In Dutch, it is called paardenbloem, meaning "horse-flower".

In Chinese, it is called p� gōng yīng (蒲公英), meaning "flower that grows in public spaces by the riverside".[citation needed]

In Persian, it is called qasedak (قاصدک), meaning the "small postman", because of a belief that it brings good news.

In Portuguese, it is called dente-de-le�o, also meaning "lion's tooth". Portuguese children also call them "o teu pai � careca" (your dad is bald) due to a game which consisted on blowing on a dandelion. If it was left with no seeds, that would mean the other kid's dad was bald.

In Greek, its seed (and most often the plant itself) is called a kleftis (κλέφτης) meaning "thief" because it is very difficult to catch once airborne.

In Cyprus, the plant is called a pappous (παππούς) meaning "grandfather" due to the white-coloured seed head resembling the white hair of an older man.

In Romanian it is generally called păpădie[clarification needed].

In Albanian it is called p�rkalidhe, prakalidhe, as well as luleshurdha (meaning "deaf plant"), radhiqe / luleradhiqe ( from a misconception due to its resemblance to chicory leaf, see radicchio), as well as lakra or lakra t� egra (translated as "wild lakra"), a name which generalizes a family of similar green leaf vegetables including as well sorrel, chicory, catsear, scarole, and other local indigenous plants.

Feayured in group

Beauty 04/28/2014
Amateur Photograph... 04/28/2014
Canon 5D I or II o... 04/29/2014
All Natural Landsc... 04/29/2014
FAA Featured Image... 05/09/2014

Uploaded

April 28th, 2014