The flowers in this picture are called what?

'Taraxacum' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family 'Asteraceae' (Compositae), which consists of species commonly known as 'dandelions'. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. Both species are edible in their entirety. The common name dandelion (from French dent-de-lion, meaning 'lion's tooth') is also given to specific members of the 'genus.'

Like other members of the 'family Asteraceae', they have very small flowers collected together into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a 'floret' (concepts relevant to botany and plants in general). In part due to their abundance, along with being a generalist 'species', dandelions are one of the most vital early spring nectar sources for a wide host of pollinators.

The species of 'Taraxacum' are tap-rooted, perennial, herbaceous plants, native to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The 'genus' contains many species, which usually (or in the case of triploids, obligately) reproduce by apomixis, resulting in many local populations and endemism. In the British Isles alone, 234 microspecies are recognised in nine loosely defined sections, of which 40 are "probably endemic".