The Amazing Dandelion (its not just a weed)!!

my grandmother used to make dandelion tea.
back then, she said the dandelions were not exposed to chemicals and other pollutants.
she doesn't make it anymore...she can't get to untainted dandelions.

[edit on 5/21/2009 by heather65]

reply to post by Pappa_Bear


Be careful where you pick wild food. If it is in your yard or a flowerbed, the ground may have been treated with chemical pesticide or herbicide.

I like to pick polk salad occasionally, but not the stuff from the edges of my back yard. We have only lived here a few years and, based on the half-full bags of chemicals left in the shed when we moved in, I suspect that the previous owner may have been fond of things like weed-n-feed and roundup.

So I pick my polk salad from the undeveloped property behind our house. It is a stand of pine with some hardwood mixed in and has enough underbrush that the likelihood of chemicals in the soil seems small.

If you pick wild plants, make sure you pick them in wild places.

[edit on 21-5-2009 by Symbiote]

I know what you all mean about the pesticides and stuff like that. That's why i have only used dandilions and nettles from my garden, because i know where they have been! I don't fancy picking them by lamposts where a dog has cocked his leg up. lol

My neighbors were just telling me the other day that they believe eating dandelions was what got them through the Great Depression (the last one that is)

reply to post by Greenize


tell you what after reading this post i went outside and found the nearest dandelion patch and ate one raw it draw some wierd looks but i tell you one thing it ain't that bad!

EDIT:nearest was bottom of the front garden.. we don't use pesticides and our dog only is allowed in the back garden just in case you think iw ent to a lampost or side of a wall! ^^

[edit on 17/05/09 by Raider of Truth]

This is interesting!!! OK..we have lots of dandelions that grown in our yard, LOTS!!and all this time, i thought they were a weed!
Can yuo/is it safe,t o just use a dandelion tool, pull em up by the root and jsut eat them like like? Can yuo eat the yellow flower part too? AOR must they be dried out, and/or boiled?

reply to post by ravenshadow13


Just be careful to not pull a Chris McCandless, maybe a few books are a good idea to reference each other.

Hi all/
Great thread!

Alot of the 'greens' or so called weeds a few people mentioned are actually higher in vitamin and mineral content then store bought vegetables!
And the good thing is that they are all free!
my mum has a good recipe for the nettles(it doesn't look tempting)...its made into a thick paste after being boiled ,using a little flour to thicken it up,which salt and pepper is added,add a lttle garlic (crushed)this is similar to a dip.
Dandelion can be also boiled and strained and as a member here also mentioned...add lemon juice,Olive oil and salt to taste.
The purslane can also be made as a pickle(I need to get this recipe too)using herbs and vinegar ...tastes great..or washed and eaten like a salad..lots of lemon juice olive oil and salt to taste.
There is also a similar plant that looks like dandelion and cooked in similar fashion..
Wild and Cultivated Greens in Greek Recipes

reply to post by Greenize


This caught my eye. I'll throw in my two cents regarding dandelions. I'm a Rutgers certified master gardener (26 years) although I don't garden much any more.

Yes, these were salad greens in Europe. They were brought into the US by European immigrants and as in the case of other plants out of place, they went "wild". Don’t feel bad, the Europeans have similar problems with this weedy plant. One of the common Italian names for it is pisacan ("dog pisses") as it shows up next to pavement and in cracks in masonry where dogs commonly piss. The accepted name dandelion is a bastardization of the French, "Dent de lion " or lion's tooth. The leaf tips are lance shaped and thus the toothy reference.

They are members of the aster family and relatives of chrysanthemums, calendulas, dahlias, zinnias and other rather beloved ornamentals. Everyone has pretty well covered the edible aspects of the plant. Another positive for this plant is that its deep reaching taproot pulls nutrients from deep in the soil to the surface. The taproot helps water, air and earthworms to infiltrate into the subsoil. When I remove these plants I typically find earthworms caught in the root system. This taproot also makes dandelions the perfect inhabitant of seemingly inhospitable compacted soils. A vacant lot or a crack in the sidewalk demands only that the taproot do its job of digging deep for nutrients. It's no wonder that this pest also thrives in the loose, fertile topsoil of a manicured lawn. It’s no contest.

Many think that by simply mowing a lawn you reduce the dandelion population by cutting off the flowering mechanisms. By doing this we are participating in "unnatural" selection. Over time our mowed lawn will continue to have dandelions but mostly those that flower beneath the height of the lawn mower setting. You can see this readily. A patch of these plants will often contain both the familiar tall stemmed and a few lower, almost crab-like growers. Check it out.

Aside from herbicides, the best way to remove these plants is to dig out the taproot. If you pull plant parts from the surface of the soil the taproot will normally send out new growth. A spade or hand trowel is the best way to go. Shove them straight down near the center of the plant, 6 - 12 inches and pry back. Pull the now loosened plant from the soil by hand and shake the soil off the roots. This is where you can see the taproot, typically a single long fat root, like a thin carrot, with thin, white feeder roots coming off of it.

Dandelion Illustration

I've had dandelions in salad, but never considered them beyond that as part of a dish or in a medicinal capacity at all.

The first time I ate them I remember being quite surprised because my opinion of the plant has been formed in large part by chemical companies and their commercials using the Dandelion as the poster child for the products kill-ability. I also figured "The Jones'" must know something since they spend so much time and energy trying to rid their tiny patches of green of the plant in question.

All it takes is a generation or two of a bubble gum education and main stream media bombardment telling you kill, kill, "kill the weed" wherever it grows, to forget that our grandparents had a whole host of uses for such plants...

If the Great Mystery put it here, it has a part to play. We may not always know what the part is and it may not even pertain directly to us, but it does go to show that everything is indeed sacred. It's just up to us to treat everything and acknowledge it all as such.

I'm happy to have arrived at a place where such useful information is shared that can be a benefit to all.

I hope my neighbors have a canary when they see the new flower box idea I have, ha... Of course I'll have to leave a note for the landscapers... Last year one of the guys turned over and "weeded" a whole herb garden my daughter and I were working on. I guess the lavendar and spearmint looked suspicious to him, ha...

You are going in right directions

Long ago I was told by the being I go to that, All Diseases can be Cured from the ROOT'S of Plant's

I know many root's are poisonous just have to find the right ones I assume.

Great post about a very useful plant!

Another good one to research that is considered a pest in many regions is Burdock It's considered a blood purifier but naturally before you go out and eat a bunch of burdock root do your homework

it would be really interesting to know for everyone which plants are good for medication and those good to eat within the wild, please can someone find a list from somewere to help?

reply to post by Greenize


Dandelions have all kinds of beneficial uses. For the past 2-3 years, I've been growing and culturing my own and using them and their natural diuretic properties to help control my blood pressure. Amazingly, it works and I have none of the side effects that I did on the Rx drugs.

A word of caution that has likely been given by others already, but it bears repeating.

KNOW YOUR SOIL. In most sub/Ubran areas, these plants are likely exposed to all manner of chemicals, fertilizers and herbicides, etc. Not just direct application but runoff and drainage water from the neighbors lawns, etc. Use with caution, but hey, if its a SHTF situation, soak them well and boil them in a few changes of water first.

An edible plants manual is good, also what is great, if you can still find them are the OLD boyscouts of america booklets and merit badge pamphlets. There is an incredible wealth of knowledge on practical survival and woodsmanship, and not just enough to keep you alive, but keep you well and living good.

Originally posted by deathpoet69
it would be really interesting to know for everyone which plants are good for medication and those good to eat within the wild, please can someone find a list from somewere to help?

It's fairly easy to find out information on the internet, but you do have to be careful in practice because some parts of plants are poisonous and not every plant is used safely all the time. You gotta just get started googling. Here are some places to start, though:

www.botanical.com...

Some well-respected American herbalists are Rosemary Gladstar, James Green, and Susan Weed. Try googling them to find out more about their useful books.

A great shop for buying bulk organic herbs is Mountain Rose Herbs and they also sell seed kits for medicinal gardens.

A good rule of thumb if you are going to set out to learn about/use herbs safely is that you should always cross-reference the herb you want to use in 3 different reference books.

Have fun exploring this wonderful topic!

The new cash crop. I got some weed I can sell you lol

I have used clove oil for a toothache before it worked wonders for me. My family has also eaten ramps or wild leeks for as long as i can remember, don't know if it has any good properties or not but they are good fried with potatoes

Dandelion and burdock has been drunk in British Isles for hundreds of years. I had a glass or two only last week.

I think the closest to it in the US would be Sarsaparilla?

A star not because it is a new scientific discovery...but because you have actually taught me some real content today besides theory!

If I am ever in a situation where I see a dandelion (summer is almost here) and remember this, I will eat one.

Then I will gag and hate you.

Dandilions fed a lot of Americans during the great depression.