The leaves and roots can be made into a gentle diuretic tea. The leaves can also be used in salad, fried, boiled or even wrapped around cheese. The roots can be eaten raw or cooked, or can be roasted and ground and used as a coffee substitute. The flowers can be added to salad, fried in batter, or made into wine. Even the seeds can be sprouted and eaten.
So why do we pull them up and mutter and curse about them? I guess it's because we can't control where they grow.
I took pictures of the seed head just for the fun of it. Here is a sample of three photos....
I hope it's given the impression of the seeds with their parachutes blowing away from the main plant. Time to confess: I cheated and placed the seed head on a glass table top, and then knocked a few seeds off and spread them around to look as if they'd blown away. Did my trick work?
By the way, Dandelion is from the french dent de lion which means lion's tooth, because the leaves have a ragged tooth shape.
6 comments:
Dabrah,
I have more dandelion than I can eat. I bought a bag of Spring mix salad, and it has dandelion leaves in them. I ate this, but to pick them up from the yard and eat them, I don't know! :-)
In France, the dandelion is called piss-en-lit which means.... well.... let's just say that my mother always told me that if I picked dandelions, I'd wet the bed.
Interesting pictures, Dee. The way you were describing the roots reminds me of what we have called "dollar weeds"; you can hardly ever get to the end of the root and they pop up everywhere in my front flower bed. arrghhhh
I've heard of dandelion, but don't think I've seen it before. Thanks!! :)
They're a scourge on all lands, it seems.
My hubby can't stand them and all those little seeds that fly in the air seeming to land only in our garden to be pulled up ;)
Rosie x
I ate dandelion salad all of the time when I was a kid. My Italian grandmother used to just pick the leaves from the backyard. Of course, the were washed very carefully! I love your pictures. Very clever!
Post a Comment