05/14/2026
Fun Facts about Dandelion: 🌻
-Dandelion contains more beta-carotene than carrots and more iron and calcium than spinach!
-Dandelion gives off Ethylene gas which aids in ripening crops and fruits! This happens naturally outside but if you want your avocados, bananas, peaches or tomatoes to ripen faster, put some dandelion leaves and flowers with you fruit in a paper bag overnight!
-Harvesting the roots in the springtime vs the autumn provides different medicine! In the fall the roots are thick, bitter and full of inulin! During the winter the inulin is converted to fructose which makes the roots sweeter and thinner In the springtime, but also springtime roots contain more Taraxacin which stimulates bile production!
-You can’t judge a Root by its flower and leaves! Sometimes the plants with the smallest leaves and Flowers have the longest taproot!
-Before the 1800s people would actually pull grass to make room for dandelion and other common weeds for food.
- At the end of WWII, herbicide companies marketed to men coming home from fighting to wage “war against weeds”. They told a story of how perfect green lawns were a sign of higher society. The war against weeds runs deep - have you seen any people (older men perhaps?) in your neighborhood still pulling dandelions out of their yards?
🌼 I love dandelion, for its sheer beauty and tenacity. How they grow happily and abundantly everywhere despite the war that has been waged against them. Pushing through cement cracks and populating desolate places.
Every part of them is medicinal and edible. I love eating the butter greens in the springtime, digging up the bitter roots for tinctures and roasted tea preparations, and using their petals as the most lovely infused oil for salves. There are a million ways to work with dandelion. What is your favorite?
