You spent all weekend mowing and
trimming the lawn and, when you went to bed last
night, it looked as lush, green, and perfectly
cropped as any golf course on TV. Now you’re
in a rush to get to work and what’s that
all over your perfect lawn? Are those dandelion
sprouts?
Perhaps if you knew what a valuable herb
the lowly dandelion is to many cultures, you’d
plant the whole yard in these potassium-packed
purifying weeds. Native to Europe and Asia, the
dandelion has become common on nitrogen-rich soils
everywhere.
Known by different names in different times
and places, even the colloquial names for dandelion
call to mind its medicinal benefits. Taraxacum
officinale, the scientific name for the flower,
is derived from two Greek words – taraxos
(meaning disorder) and achos (remedy). Eleventh-century
Arab physicians used dandelion to treat water
retention and liver ailments.
Perhaps the most telling name came in the
16th century when the herb was known as herba
urinaria, in honor of the strong diuretic action
produced by ingesting the leaves. It’s still
known as “piss-a-bed” in the European
countryside. The dandelion is a good source of
potassium so it doesn’t deplete the body’s
potassium supplies the way many modern diuretics
do.
And the current, most common name for the
herb in this country – dandelion –
is French. It simply means teeth of the lion (dents
de lion), which is an apt description of the jagged
edges of the leaf.
Young dandelion leaves are eaten fresh
in salads while the flowers are used to flavor
a potent wine. Therapeutic tonic beers are brewed
using all parts of the plant. The plant’s
roots taste great boiled or fried but are most
popular roasted to use as a delicious, caffeine-free
coffee substitute.
And try not to stress out too much about those
dandelion flowers popping up all over your otherwise
pristine lawn. You’ll never get rid of them.
Those soft, round, wispy seed heads can drift
in the wind as far as six miles away.
Reference:
Kruger, Anna; An Illustrated Guide to Herbs: Their
Medicine and Magic; A Dragon’s World Book;
Limpsfield and London; 1993
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