LEONTODON, in botany, a genus of the syngensia polygamia æqualis class. The receptacle is naked; the calix is caliculated; the pappus is simple; and the flosculi are in a simple series. There are nine species, three of them natives of Britain, viz. the taraxacum, or dandelion; the hispidum, or rough dandelion; and the autumnale, or yellow devil's-bit. The root of the taraxacum is esteemed a good cathartic.