Dandelion info
Scientific name
Taraxacum officinale
Common name
Dandelion
Origin plant
European and Asian native. Like coltsfoot, European settlers brought the plant with them to be used for medicinal purposes.
Origin name
Dandelion is a corruption of the French phrase: Lion’s tooth (Dents de lion). The name Officinale means that it’s used medicinally. Taraxacum comes from the Greek words 'taraxos' which means 'disorder', and 'akos', which means „remedy”.
Botanical family
Dandelion is a member of the aster family.
Description
The dandelion is a perennial with long lance shaped toothed leaves that starts in spring as a basal rosette. The stalks are hollow and contain milky sap, which is said to remove warts. The sap contains a liquid latex substance which can be used as glue - nice for organic scrap booking.
The taproot can grow up to ten inches long. The flower head consists of numerous yellow ray florets and after the blooming season it turns into the well-known powder-puff seed head.
Where it grows
They can be found in lawns, meadows, fields, disturbed areas and here, in the garden.
When it flowers(if applicable)
Most dandelion flowers bloom early spring.
Parts used
Roots, crowns, leaves, flower buds, flowers. Leaves are the most nutritious parts.
When to harvest
Harvest young leaves in early spring from the basal rosette, before the plant flowers. After that the leaves will turn more bitter. Some say, they’re also good in late fall after a frost. The frost lessens the bitterness somewhat. You can also use the leaves during summer if you boil them in two changes of water. Some people don’t mind the bitterness so much, it really is a matter of preference.
The roots can be harvested from spring to fall. The flowers are best harvested before noon, after that there's more bugs in them, or 'protein'
How to harvest
When picking only flowers, you may want to use gloves because the milky sap can leave brown marks on your fingers. To make sure you are picking dandelion leaves, feel on the underside of the leaf.
If there’s some hair, it’s not a dandelion. Dandelions have completely smooth leaves.
Uses in the kitchen
Numerous. The leaves can be eaten raw in salads, or used as cooked greens. I like them in pasta dough to make fettuccine or add them to soups and stews.
The roots make a wonderful hot drink, the buds can be added to soups or can be pickled and the flowers are great for fritters.
Nutrients:
Higher in Beta carotene than carrots, more iron and calcium than spinach and in vitamins A,B,C,D, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. Also the bitter principle taraxacin, triterpenes (including taraxol and taraxasterol), sterols, sugars, pectin, glycosides, choline, phenolic acids, asparagine, vitamin B1, B2, B5, B6, B12, E, biotin, inositol, thiamine and riboflavin.
Poisonous look-alikes
The look-alike that may be dangerous in large amounts is Coltsfoot.
Another look-alike but NOT poisonous is Cat’s ear or also known as False Dandelion. The stem of this plant is not hollow like dandelion and the leaves are hairy. I have not found one here yet.
Taraxacum officinale
Common name
Dandelion
Origin plant
European and Asian native. Like coltsfoot, European settlers brought the plant with them to be used for medicinal purposes.
Origin name
Dandelion is a corruption of the French phrase: Lion’s tooth (Dents de lion). The name Officinale means that it’s used medicinally. Taraxacum comes from the Greek words 'taraxos' which means 'disorder', and 'akos', which means „remedy”.
Botanical family
Dandelion is a member of the aster family.
Description
The dandelion is a perennial with long lance shaped toothed leaves that starts in spring as a basal rosette. The stalks are hollow and contain milky sap, which is said to remove warts. The sap contains a liquid latex substance which can be used as glue - nice for organic scrap booking.
The taproot can grow up to ten inches long. The flower head consists of numerous yellow ray florets and after the blooming season it turns into the well-known powder-puff seed head.
Where it grows
They can be found in lawns, meadows, fields, disturbed areas and here, in the garden.
When it flowers(if applicable)
Most dandelion flowers bloom early spring.
Parts used
Roots, crowns, leaves, flower buds, flowers. Leaves are the most nutritious parts.
When to harvest
Harvest young leaves in early spring from the basal rosette, before the plant flowers. After that the leaves will turn more bitter. Some say, they’re also good in late fall after a frost. The frost lessens the bitterness somewhat. You can also use the leaves during summer if you boil them in two changes of water. Some people don’t mind the bitterness so much, it really is a matter of preference.
The roots can be harvested from spring to fall. The flowers are best harvested before noon, after that there's more bugs in them, or 'protein'
How to harvest
When picking only flowers, you may want to use gloves because the milky sap can leave brown marks on your fingers. To make sure you are picking dandelion leaves, feel on the underside of the leaf.
If there’s some hair, it’s not a dandelion. Dandelions have completely smooth leaves.
Uses in the kitchen
Numerous. The leaves can be eaten raw in salads, or used as cooked greens. I like them in pasta dough to make fettuccine or add them to soups and stews.
The roots make a wonderful hot drink, the buds can be added to soups or can be pickled and the flowers are great for fritters.
Nutrients:
Higher in Beta carotene than carrots, more iron and calcium than spinach and in vitamins A,B,C,D, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. Also the bitter principle taraxacin, triterpenes (including taraxol and taraxasterol), sterols, sugars, pectin, glycosides, choline, phenolic acids, asparagine, vitamin B1, B2, B5, B6, B12, E, biotin, inositol, thiamine and riboflavin.
Poisonous look-alikes
The look-alike that may be dangerous in large amounts is Coltsfoot.
Another look-alike but NOT poisonous is Cat’s ear or also known as False Dandelion. The stem of this plant is not hollow like dandelion and the leaves are hairy. I have not found one here yet.
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