The giant dandelion, Sonchus acaulis, is throwing up a head of brilliant flowers in the Oceanic Islands House.
Reaching 250cm in height, Sonchus acaulis is a distinct perennial with a woody base, from which emerges a rosette of serrated, fleshy leaves. It has an umbel of numerous individual yellow ray flowers without disc florets, and these are held on densely woolly, involucral bracts. This species has a very limited distribution, occurring only on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It requires low rainfall and good drainage to thrive.