A type of dandelion thought to have died out in the Netherlands 50 years ago has been rediscovered in a field on the Wadden Sea island of Schiermonnikoog.

The dandelion taraxacum euryphyllum, which has mottled leaves, is common in Scandinavia, but the last examples in the Netherlands were seen on the island of Texel decades ago, Karst Meijer founder of the Herbarium Frisicum, told local broadcaster Omrop Fryslan.

Meijer told the broadcaster he suspects the plant had always been on Schiermonnikoog but that no-one had ever gone looking for it. He and a team were on the island looking for a different sort of dandelion when they made the discovery.

‘Most people think a dandelion is a dandelion, but we were actively looking for another rare species, which is why we spotted it,’ he said.