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in praise of the dandelion | (Read 244 times) |
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1331
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May 20, 2008, 09:33:20 AM |
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I've been out of town for a while.
During my travels, I had the opportunity to drive into some really beautiful country. Looking for morels and a little wildcrafting ...
We drove by a field packed with dandelions and somebody commented that that was far too many dandelions - somebody should do something.
I dunno.
As time passes I find that I like the dandelion more and more. I like to blow on the puff balls. I like the look of the flower. I like a few of the tender, young greens in my salad. From a permaculture perspective it seems like a first class plant: deep tap root, quick to establish and provide cover, fantastic animal feed ... I suspect that it is a fantastic guild plant for nearly all trees.
I wonder if a fruit tree would be happier with a bunch of dandelions under it than a bunch of grass.
So ... back to the drive ... I didn't say anything. But, I thought, what if some critters were in there? Cows or pigs or chickens .... I bet they would gobble up the dandelions first. And the dandelions would probably be super good for them. And then there would be hardly any dandelions. And you could encourage children to collect the dandelion puff balls that they do find and blow them on the pastures so there could be more dandelions ....
Just some odd thoughts ...
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kelda
Posts: 263
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May 20, 2008, 12:47:20 PM |
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Agreed: dynamic accumulator which is a low-maintenance medicinal and ornamental herb.
I love dandelions mostly for their roots: I dry the root to use as a tea, or I dry and then roast it for a coffee-like substitute. I'm more inclined for the tea though, and would be quite happy drinking a cup of it each morning for the rest of my life. It's a gentle tonic, so it won't hurt my body to have tea to that extent. It's good for the liver which means its good for lots of things: detox, healthy skin, radiant health.
Num.
I actually didn't dry enough of it last fall (the best time for harvest), so am now wondering what I'll do when it runs out. Harvest some summer stuff I guess, which is not so robust. Oh well.
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Arthur Lee Jacobson
author
Posts: 19
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May 29, 2008, 09:25:20 PM |
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Here is what I wrote about dandelion in my book on page 298:
Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale s.l.). Common dandelion is a perennial from Europe. In the minds of many, it is the premier weed, even as we deem oak king of the forest, lion king of beasts, and eagle greatest of birds. It has been praised in poetry, played with by children, eaten as a vegetable, employed medicinally, made into wine, extracted for use as commercial flavoring, and been subjected to vast amounts of study and literature. Common dandelion has strikingly adaptable biology. In this respect, it is like humans. It grows in a remarkable variety of sites, holds strong resurrective power, and reproduces prodigiously.
The chief display of fresh leaves and bright flowers comes in April. The largest, healthiest specimens in full bloom are marvelously sumptuous. In 1980, a flowerstem from this author’s garden grew over 38 inches high. The valuable properties to herbalists include: laxative, cholagogue, diuretic, stomachic, and tonic. All parts are edible raw or cooked. Its bitterness is more bearable by our remembering to eat the plant in earliest spring; to use its parts in mixtures of greens rather than as a single dish; and to reflect on the extra-high levels of vitamin A and calcium. Dandelion is corrupted from the French dent de lion, which is from the Latin, dens leonis—“teeth of the lion.” Other old English names include: blowball, puffball, irish daisy, piss-a-bed, crow parsnip, and monk’s head.
Arthur Lee Jacobson
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