Rosette (botany)

In flowering plants, rosettes usually sit near the soil, but they can also be at the top of an otherwise naked branch or trunk.

Many plant families have varieties with rosette morphology; they are particularly common in Asteraceae (such as dandelions), Brassicaceae (such as cabbage), and Bromeliaceae.

Another form occurs when internodes along a stem are shortened, bringing the leaves closer together, as in lettuce, dandelion and some succulents.

Part of the protective function of a rosette like the dandelion is that it is hard to pull from the ground; the leaves come away easily while the taproot is left intact.

Another kind of protection is provided by the caulescent rosette, which is part of the growth form of the giant herb genus Espeletia in South America, which has a well-developed stem above the ground.