@chemteacherphil: Just like rubber trees, dandelions contain latex, which means we can use dandelions to make car tires! This is important because rubber trees grow in limited areas around the equator, whereas dandelions grow all over the northern hemisphere in all kinds of soil. The specific cultivar of dandelion used in the production of rubber for car tires is the Russian dandelion, which produces a lot of latex, primarily stored in its roots. Continental tire produced the first dandelion based car tire in 2014 and has been ramping up production since then. How cool is that! #chemistry #chemteacherphil