Dandelion: History and Culture

The Dandelion’s pallid tube / Astonishes the Grass, / And Winter instantly becomes / An infinite Alas – // The tube uplifts a signal Bud / And then a shouting Flower, — / The Proclamation of the Suns / That sepulture is o’er. Emily Dickinson

The dandelion is hated by men who strive for a golf-course swath of grass in their yards. But is also a herald of spring beloved by children. Children around the world delight in presenting their mothers with tight-fisted bouquets of vivid yellow and love to blow the o’clocks on the puffy seed heads. If the delight of children is not reason enough to appreciate the common dandelions. The medicinal benefits and culinary applications of this carefree plant ought to garner grudging respect.

Name

A look at the common names for the dandelion gives insight into the roles it has played in horticultural imagination. It is also known as Pee in the Bed, Lions Teeth, Fairy Clock, Clock, Clock Flowers, Clocks and Watches, Farmers Clocks, Old Mans Clock, One Clock, Wetweed, Blowball, Cankerwort, Lionstooth, Priests Crown, Puffball, Swinesnout, White Endive, Wild Endive and Pissa-a-beds.

The name we know it by, dandelion, comes from Dents Lioness, medieval Latin, or Dent de Lion, French, both meaning tooth of the lion.

History

The dandelion’s use as a medicinal herb reaches far back into Chinese history. The Arabs were the next to recognize its usefulness and wrote about it around the 11th century. It was they who taught Europeans about its medicinal benefits.

When the Mayflower arrived in 1620, there were no dandelions in North America. By 1671, they were everywhere. They were introduced to America by European immigrants whose cultures used dandelions as part of their regular diet.

Modern scientific analysis reveals that dandelions are a good source of calcium, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. The calcium content alone is impressive. A serving of dandelion greens has as much calcium as half a cup of milk. It is suggested that the rich mineral and vitamin content of dandelions is because their long taproot reaches down to the rich subsoil, which other plants can’t reach.

Description

Dandelions are perennials that grow off a taproot that reaches up to a foot long. The leaves form a basal rosette out of which grow the long stems surmounted by brilliant flowers followed by a diaphanous seed head.

Care

If you are seriously considering dandelions as an addition to your vegetable diet, grow it as an annual, otherwise the plant becomes bitter. It can be propagated either through seed or through root segments.

Dandelions are, obviously, very hardy and not fussy about their soil or water conditions (much to the chagrin of lawn-lovers everywhere).

Uses

Dandelions are useful as a medicinal and a culinary herb.

Medicinal

Clearly, their vitamin content make dandelions wonderful for your health. Dandelions make an effective diuretic and can be taken for urinary infections and liver complaints. They can also be taken for gallbladder problems and constipation. Unlike, traditional diuretics, dandelions do not leach potassium from the body because they themselves have such a high potassium content.

Some people suggest that dandelions are good for rheumatics and gout.

The latex from the leaves and stalks can be used to treat corns and warts.

Culinary

Dandelions were once a popular salad green. Even the root has been used in salads. The flowers can be used in dandelion wine. And the root can be roasted and used for a caffeine free variant of coffee.

Perhaps rather than try to eradicate dandelions, we should simply enjoy them!

Houdret, Jessica. PracticalHerbGarden Hermes House, 2002

McVicar, Jekka. The Complete Herb Book. Kyle Cathie Limited, 1994.

This article reports the common medicinal uses of the herb known as dandelion. Any herbal remedies attempted by the reader are done so at his or her own risk.