Dandelion

Scientific name: Taraxacum officionale.

Other names: Blowball, cankerwort, common dandelion, Irish daisy, lion's tooth, monk's head, piss-a-bed, priest's crown, puffball, swine snout, telltime, white endive

While it is often considered a common weed by those trying to keep their lawns green and unmarred, the dandelion is actually one of the more useful herbs, with every part able to be used in some fashion by a creative herbalist.

Description
A dandelion grows from an unbranched taproot that produces one to ten stems typically ranging in height from two to sixteen inches tall, though some specimens have been known to reach 28 inches tall. The stems may be white or purple-tinted, and either smooth or covered in fine, short hairs. The stems also produce a milky latex. The foliage may be held upright or spread out horizontally, and each leaf is oblong with the lobes that gave it the name dent de leon, teeth of the lion.

Each stem is non-branching, and produces a single flower head. The flower heads contain 40 to over 100 florets, and reproduction occurs asexually through apomixis, producing plants that are virtual clones of the parent. Once fertilized, the flower heads form fruiting bodies called cypselae, from which the puffballs emerge, comprised of silver tufted fruits that spread a dandelion's seeds on the wind.

Habitat
While the dandelion is native to Eurasia, is has been naturalized across all temperate areas of the world, including North America, South America, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and India, where most consider it a noxious weed.

Dandelions commonly colonize disturbed soil, lawns, on the disturbed banks and shores of waterways, and virtually everywhere with moist soil.

Culinary Uses
Nearly every part of the dandelion is edible: The flowers can be used to make wine, the greens can be used in salads, and the roots can be made into a coffee substitute.

Medicinal Uses
The fresh or dried root and the young tops are most commonly used in herbal medicine.

The earliest mention of medicinal uses of the dandelion date from the tenth and eleventh centuries, wherein Arabian physicians describe it as a wild endive, and in Welsh medicine of the thirteenth century. dandelion roots are used extensively in Europe, and the plant is widely cultivated in India as a remedy for liver complaints.

It has been used in herbal medicine as a stimulant, a diuretic, a mild laxative, and as a digestive. The latex has been used to repel mosquitoes.

Magickal Uses
Drink dandelion tea or coffee to promote psychic powers, or leave a cup of the infusion by your bed at night to call spirits.

Recipes
Dandelion Tea

Dandelion Wine

Dandelion Salad

Dandelion-Root Coffee

Warnings
Be careful where you harvest wild dandelions, as they may have absorbed pesticides from the neighboring soil. Do not harvest dandelions from the side of the road, due to the risk that they may have absorbed toxins from the exhaust of passing cars. Dandelions may cause a reaction in those who are allergic to ragweed.