Dandelion greens are the leaves of the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), a hardy perennial of the daisy family eaten as a bitter leafy vegetable. Each plant grows as a flat rosette of long, spoon-shaped leaves with deeply cut, backward-pointing teeth along the edges — the very feature that gives the plant its name, from the Old French dent de lion, lion's tooth. The leaves are intensely bitter, with a green, mineral, faintly milky character, and are richest and most tender when young; older summer leaves grow tough and harsher. They are eaten raw in salads, especially the pale forced or blanched leaves, or cooked to tame the bitterness — most classically wilted or sauteed with garlic, olive oil, chilli and a squeeze of lemon, or paired with smoky bacon and a hot dressing.