Dandelion

Parts Usually Used

Roots, tops, and leaves.

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Description is hardly necessary. A familiar weed; 2-18 inches tall. A small rosette-forming perennial plant with a long thin taproot and a clump of entire or sinuate leaves. Flowering, leafless, stalk is hollow, with milky juice. The leaves are jagged-cut. Flowers are yellow; March to September, or sporadically all year. Seeds form “clocks” round balls of seeds with parachutes of hairs.

Where Found

The golden-yellow flower-heads of this poor, despised plant brighten up fields, hedgerows and many a drab piece of land. Found on lawns, waste places, throughout the United States and Canada. Native of Europe, found in most of the world.

Medicinal Properties

Alterative, antiviral, cholagogue (increase the flow of bile), deobstruent, diuretic, stomachic, hepatic, laxative, tonic, aperient, (a very mild laxative), liver and digestive tonic.

Biochemical Information

Biotin, calcium, choline, fats, gluten, gum, inositol, inulin, iron, lactupicrine, linolenic acid, magnesium, niacin, PABA, phosphorus, potash, proteins, resin, sulfur, vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, B12, C, E, and P, and zinc. Leaves: bitter glycosides, carotenoids, terpenoids, choline, potassium salts, iron and other minerals, vitamins A, B, C, D, G. ) (compared with lettuce, 1,200 units per oz.

) Root: bitter glycosides, tannins, triterpenes, sterols, volatile oil, choline, asparagin, inulin.

Legends, Myths and Stories

Potassium is often flushed from the body when synthetic diuretics are taken. But dandelion has an abundance of potassium to off-set this problem. The feathery seed balls of the dandelion were once used by young girls to determine if their true loves were really true. They would blow on the dandelion fuzzy ball 3 times; if at least one of the fuzzy seeds remained, it was taken as an omen that her sweetheart was thinking about her.

” Since the 7th century, the Chinese have known about the antibacterial properties of the juice of the dandelion. Researchers recently discovered that dandelion may protect against cirrhosis of the liver. In Europe, the dandelion first appears as being used medicinally in 1485. The name dandelion was invented by a 15th century surgeon, who compared the shape of the leaves to a lion’s tooth, or dens leonis .

” Dandelion was brought to the New World by the early colonists. They used the whole plant. The flowers made wine, the leaves made salads, the stems and roots dried and used medicinally. According to stories, dandelion never grows where there are no human inhabitants. The early pioneers found no trace of them in western America. After a few years, up sprang a dandelion head and soon there were millions of them.

Native Americans learned to love them and would walk miles to gather them if they could not be found locally. Dandelion coffee is made of high quality roots, now grown on specialized farms. Proper harvesting, drying and skillful roasting methods give dandelion a remarkable roasted flavor that many people readily accept as a coffee substitute. Dandelion coffee has been found to be of benefit to dyspeptic people, who cannot tolerate real coffee.

The roasted root has no caffeine. Roasted dandelion root has almost a magical effect upon milk. The resultant liquid tastes like rich cream. Of course with fewer calories. Try on breakfast cereals, it is great. Also, try this dandelion milk in recipes that call for milk as an ingredient.

Uses

Historically, herbalists regarded this bitter plant as a digestive aid and a natural diuretic, believing it stimulated bile production and supported the function of the liver, gallbladder, kidneys, pancreas, and spleen. Traditional practitioners administered it for conditions such as jaundice, anemia, gout, rheumatism, arthritis, neuralgia, fluid retention, and constipation, claiming it helped disperse acidic deposits from joints and lowered both blood pressure and cholesterol.

The fresh leaves were traditionally consumed raw in salads or brewed into infusions, while a tea made from dried leaves served as a folk laxative. The milky latex from the hollow stems was applied topically to pimples, sores, ulcers, and edema. The dried root was frequently roasted as a coffee substitute. All parts of the plant historically served as dietary staples, with the leaves prepared similarly to spinach.

In traditional Chinese medicine, dandelion was utilized as a tonic, blood purifier, and digestive aid, and the ground plant was applied externally as a poultice for snakebites.

Bibliography

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D. and Phyllis A. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992). , Special Sale Catalog, 1996 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.

Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974 The Healing Plants , by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. , Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992