Dandelion: Weed, or food, or medicine?

One of the earliest spring flowers, and one of the latest bloomers as winter sets in….Dandelion (Taraxacum officianale) or Hu tsi la ha (in Cherokee) is always present in the prettiest of lawns, it is the bane of the husbands weekend, trying to eradicate it.

BUT….it is also a food source, a medicine of old and a wine maker. This weed is persistent, if you do not get all of it’s tap root, it grows right back, with a vengeance.

To use as a food source you have to gather the leaves when young, so there is no bitterness in the leaves, then after washing it makes a nice addition to a green salad. During World War I, when coffee was at a premium, dandelion root, mixed with chicory root, was dried, chopped, and roasted. It was then brewed like coffee. The flowering tops have been used for a very long time in making a wine...I remember my uncle making it when I was a child.

For use as a medicine boil up a tea made from the flowering heads. This tea was given as a tonic to “make the woman stronger after childbirth.” It has also been used for heart trouble, boiling the whole plant into a tea. The benefit to the heart may lie in the fact that dandelion is a diuretic (removing excess fluid from the body) therefore reducing the risks inherent in fluid build-up around the heart.

Disclaimer: Nothing herein written is to imply diagnosis or recommendation for treatment. It is presented for historical interest only