Dandelion

Botanical Name: Taraxicum officinale

Family: Compositae or Asteraceae

Common Names: tooth of a lion, piss in bed, blow ball

Plant shape: Basal rosette Stem: hole, hollow, sap Leaf: deeply toothed points backwards, hairless  Flower: 150 flowers on each flower head! they close at night and in the rain Root: tap root often 1 / long 1/2 ” diameter

Leaf: early Spring, Fall are not as bitter

Stem: before flower blooms

Root: Spring (Stimulates bile production…taraxican)   Fall (liver, balance blood sugar…inulin)

Flower: harvest in full bloom right before use

Buds: raw, salads, stir fried, frozen for later use

Dandelion grows everywhere, short if mowed, tall where not mowed

Salad greens, spinach substitute, pot herb, infuse in apple cider vinegar to extract it’s high mineral and vitamin content, bread, soups, teas, honey, wine, lemonade, coffee (roasted root), vegetable, drink cooking liquid. Roots eaten raw (when tender), powdered, boiled, stir fried or roasted

Dandelion is the ultimate health food!

Dandelion is HIGH in Protein and Potassium (regulates water balance which is important for the nervous system)

Dandelion is HIGH in Calcium: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron

Potassium

Diuretic, Hepatic, Bitter, Cholagogue, Anti rheumatic, Anti spasmodic, Aperient, Digestive, Laxative, Tonic, Nutritive, Galactagogue, Lithotriptic

1. Eat a dandelion leaf (raw) before or after every meal as a digestive aid

2. Drink Dandelion tea every day for 2 weeks to heal: liver, diabetes, spleen, stomach and skin problems

3. Dandelion leaf increases the hydrocholoric acid in your stomach and helps extract more calcium from your food

4. Conditions Dandelion helps: all skin disorders, liver distress, constipation, high blood pressure, Diabetes, anemia, alzheimers, kidney and gall bladder stones, jaundice, warts, stomach aches, depression and weight loss)

5. Nourishing the liver with Dandelion helps calm angry emotions

6. Calcium comparison Recommend daily allowance for calcium = 800 mg

1 cup of Spinach has 102 mg

1 cup of Kale has 206 mg

1 cup of Dandelion has 4,000 mg

7. Dandelion is EVERYWHERE because God knows we need it!

Dandelion Medicine: Remedies and Recipes to Detoxify, Nourish, Stimulate (Storey Medicinal Herb Guide), by Brigitte Mars, a lover of Dandelions!

http://bearmedicineherbals.com/from-the-lion%E2%80%99s-mouth-dancing-a-weedy-revolution.html, by Kiva Rose, an excellent article on Dandelions