Dandelion

 

Dandelion

 

The First Dandelion

Simple and fresh and fair from winter’s close emerging,

As is no artifice of fashion, business, politics, had ever been,

Forth from its sunny nook of shelter’d grass – innocent, golden, calm as the dawn,

The spring’s first dandelion shows its trustful face.

Walt Whitman (1879-1931)

Walt Whitman was an American journalist and poet.

Common dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are a cheerful, bright yellow and grow in abundance if allowed to do so. The flowers emerge from an evergreen rosette with a long, strong taproot. There are more than two hundred species of Taraxacum in the UK. The name comes from the French ‘dents de lion’ (lion’s teeth) because the notched, pointed leaves are reminiscent of lion’s teeth.

Flowering from March to October, they are a rich and valuable source of food to bees and butterflies in spring, when other flowers are not yet producing nectar and pollen. The flower stems are hollow and emit a milky substance when broken.

 It is said that this sap is useful when tracking animals, because it takes twelve hours to dry, so it is easy to establish when an animal has used a trail. I don’t know if rain affects the efficacy of such a clue! The sap can also be used to soothe stings and blisters. Some even claim that it can cure warts.

 Leaves and flowers are edible and can be used in salads, and can be used alongside the root to make medicine for kidney ailments. The dried root can also be ground to make coffee.

Dandelion wine, made from the flowers, is said to be beneficial for indigestion and kidney problems. To be more efficacious, it is advisable to gather the flowers on May Day.

When we had home-grown slaves, we made dandelion wine, and it was delicious. We haven’t made it since they grew up and left home. Picking the flowers disproved the old wives’ tale that they cause bed-wetting.

One of the joys of dandelions is the seed head, known as a clock, or fairy clock. The seeds are light and designed to float far and wide. Young children enjoy blowing the seeds, making a wish as they do so. Otherwise, they may count the number of times they have to blow to disperse them all, which they believe gives the hour of the day.

The seeds also provide food for small birds, like finches.

Fruit farmers have been known to encourage dandelions in their orchards, because the ethylene exuded from the plants helps to ripen the fruit.

Those who wish to try and eradicate dandelions from their gardens can do so quite readily, without recourse to chemicals. However, plants can regenerate from small sections of root, so care should be taken when digging them up or composting them.