The Nikon MicroscopyU confocal microscopy image gallery was created with a PCM-2000 confocal scanning system interfaced to a Nikon Eclipse E600 upright microscope. Images were recorded in successive z-axis serial sections with C-Imaging Systems software with excitation illumination provided by an argon-ion and/or a helium-neon laser.

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The bane of suburban lawn enthusiasts and golf green landscapers, the ubiquitous dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, has a strong following with herbalists seeking alternative medical remedies and botanists studying the roots of the Angiosperms (flowering plants). Found throughout the northern hemisphere, dandelions have a strong taproot of about 6-inch length that is white and milky on the inside and dark brown on the outside.

Dandelions are successful weeds in part because of their adaptations for using rainfall optimally. The long, jagged leaves of the dandelion rise directly above the taproot, forming a rosette that lies closely to the ground. Its grooved leaves conduct rainwater toward the center of the rosette, keeping the taproot well watered. When eaten by an herbivore, such as a deer or grasshopper, or mowed, the dandelion is able to regrow from the residue of its long taproot. Even a part of the root can result in new dandelions that spread rapidly with their feathery, wind-borne seeds.

Like other flowering plants, the roots of dandelions function to anchor the plant, gather and move water and minerals, store food, and provide a source of cells for growth. Cell division is active in this dicot's root tip. The root cap of the dandelion protects the root tip cells and allows it to penetrate many different types of soils, as it grows. As an added advantage over the grasses that it invades, the taproot produces antibacterial substances that inhibit the nitrifying bacteria that grasses depend on. In addition to the primary taproot, dandelions have many smaller branch roots that increase the surface area for gathering water and minerals.

First appearing in the 10th Century journals of Arabian physicians, commercially-grown dandelion root has experienced a recent resurgence in worldwide sales as a potential remedy for some liver and kidney ailments; a diuretic; a laxative; for reducing cholesterol and uric acid; and a whole host of other ailments. Biochemists have isolated some of the active chemical substances responsible for the legendary healing properties of this weed (taraxacerin, taraxacin, and inulin) and nutritionists have found it rich in vitamins A, D, C, and B as well as trace metals and potassium. Roasted roots are also used as a coffee substitute.