The Many Uses of the Dandelion

Much money is spent on herbicides to remove this cheery flower from lawns and gardens, but the dandelion holds its own, producing seeds with or without pollination and distributing them far and wide.

It is believed that the dandelion originated in central Asia and spread throughout most of the world, preferring the cooler climates. Most species occur in the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, with the greatest concentration in northwest Europe. The name dandelion comes from the French ‘dent-de-lion’, referring to the plants lions tooth leaves. It’s also known as ‘wet a bed’ or ‘piss in lee’, after its diuretic action. Its Latin name Taraxacum is derived from the Greek taraxos (disorder) and Akos (remedy) on account of its curative actions.

The dandelion takes an important place among the flowers for our bee keepers. The dandelion flowers supply considerable of both pollen and nectar in the early spring, when the bees harvest from fruit trees is nearly over. It has been observed that up to 93 different kinds of insects are in the habit of visiting the flower of the dandelion.

Dandelion flowers are very sensitive to weather conditions, in fine weather, all parts of the plant are outstretched, but directly as rain threaten; the whole head closes up at once. It also closes at night around 5 o‘clock and opens again by 7 in the morning.

Dandelions roots calorie count is exceptionally low – a cup is only 25 calories – and its nutrient content is exceptionally high. In fact, dandelion root contains greater nutritional value than many stem vegetables. Dandelion leaves are also an outstanding source of vitamin A and excellent source of vitamin C, B vitamins as well as calcium, copper, manganese and iron. Young dandelion leaves make delicious additions to sandwiches and summer salads. The roasted roots make an excellent coffee, without any problems with keeping one awake at night. Just clean, roast in a warm oven and then they are ready to ground into very tasty coffee.

Dandelion is used in Western, Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. This alone is proof of its status as an important remedy.

In Europe, dandelion is used in the treatment of the following conditions, fevers, boils, liver congestion, heartburn, skin problems and fluid retention. In Chinese herbalism, they value its anti-inflammatory action and use it in breast lumps, mastitis, boils, sore throats, appendicitis, liver disease and digestive complaints.

Bitter herbs like dandelion stimulate digestion by stimulating the release of bile by the liver and gall bladder. This can be very useful in the treatment of gall stones and poor digestive function leading to bloating and nausea after eating. Take dandelion before meal times for the relief of digestive problems. Dandelion also contains very high concentration of inulin, which serves as a food source for the growth of ‘friendly bacteria’ in the gut.

Dandelion is an excellent ‘tonic’ for the liver, in one animal study, dandelion significantly improved the livers ability to clear toxins by 244%. So anyone on long term medication can benefit from using dandelion on a regular basis.

The leaves of dandelion have a confirmed diuretic effect, used for weight loss programs and women who retain fluid around their menstrual cycle. Take the juice of dandelion leaves in the above cases, 2 tablespoons per day should work.

David Foley

MRCHM, MNIHM

Medical Herbalist