Can i either A) remove dashes from taxonomy dropdown, or B) map text to taxonomy

I have installed the custom post & taxonomy add on (it's great thanks), but one little problem.

I want to be able to use the item selected from the drop down as an actual word in other places (ie in SEO fields, and in some other custom fields). But when someone selects one of the sub-items from the taxonomy drop down, the "--" come with it.

So i'd like to either A) be able to get rid of those dashes, or B (preferably), can someone please tell me how I can map a normal drop down field to a taxonomy (including sub-menu taxonomy items), thanks.

If that's not completely clear an example of how the taxonomy list is:

Clothing
--shirt
--dress
--top
SHOES
--heels

etc..

Thanks