Dandelion: Medicinal Properties

The dandelion has many medicinal properties along with being a wild edible.

Uses: Jaundice and other liver problems, a tonic, blood cleanser, purifier, stomach, diuretic, laxative, nervousness an effective relaxant, minor scars and inflammations.

Identification: Grows to a height of 2 inches or more. Leaves are saw-toothed, whorl from centre. Yellow sectioned flowers mature to fluffy “pompoms” with seeds that blow in the wind.

Harvesting: The best time to harvest the leaves to make dandelion tea is spring, before the flowers appear. Another time is late fall, as after a frost their protective bitterness disappears. Plants growing in shaded areas or deep grass tend to be less bitter.

Infusion: Six dandelion leaves should be used for one cup of tea. The leaves should be torn into strips first. Unsweetened dandelion tea may be cooled and applied as a skin wash. The skin wash can be used on minor scars and inflammations.


ETA: You can also make dandelion wine if you want www.wikihow.com...

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lol ive read each one of these lol and i just want to say there awesome

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Holy botanicals Batman. It's an organic salad.

Dandelion is a pioneer species with a large taproot, and extroverted, solar, and male correspondences. As such, in permacultural terms it can be used during the initialisation of a new garden, to naturally till/break up hard/dry/baked soils.

earthnotes.tripod.com... - The (herbal) 411 on dandelion.

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They are a good source of vitamin A,a major source of vitamin K,and they have lots of different minerals in such as potassium and manganese.
I eat the leaves on salads-young shoots are the best I think.

www.nutrition-and-you.com...

My dogs love the roots to such an extent that my garden has lots of little holes all over in the summer,where the dogs have dug up the roots to crunch.

If you wish to use the roots for anything,you can grow them in old bits of pipe filled with soil-That way you can get really long fat roots.

Nice, I have been thinking about trying the dandilion, just havent got round to it yet. Maybe I should, we have plenty in the garden

Michigan has so much wild food compared to So Ca.

I have the book, Stalking The Wild Asparagus (Euell Gibbons). I think most of that stuff grows back east.

Out here, we have acorns. That is pretty much it.