Dandelion Taraxacum officinale seed
LATIN NAME: Taraxacum officinale
COMMON NAME: Dandelion
The dandelion is the bright gold of the spring lawn, and the single yellow heads open above the rosettes of the toothed leaves. The low, rosette-forming, perennial herb carries the deeply toothed, lance-shaped leaves and the solitary, bright-yellow, many-petalled flower heads on the hollow, milky stems through the spring, to be followed by the round, white puffballs of the seeds, one of the fine, bright sights of the lawn. The whole plant has a very long record as the fine, bitter green and the coffee-root of the old tables, and it is a fine, generous presence of the wayside. It is a plant of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The dandelion is a historic subject of the plant science, and the gold heads keep showing up in the work on the wayside herbs. The chemistry of the leaves and the roots, which carry the fine, bitter compounds of the old tables, has been studied steadily, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the wayside herbs, the wind-dispersed seeds and the members of the daisy family. The deeply toothed leaves and the rosette habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the dandelion is a regular subject of the work on the bright gold of the spring world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The dandelion is a fine, generous plant of the lawn and the wayside. The young, deeply toothed leaves have a very long record as the fine, bitter green of the spring tables, the fresh leaves added to the salads and the young roots dried and roasted into the fine, dark brew of the old tables, while the solitary, bright-yellow heads open through the spring, drawing the bees, and the round, white puffballs carry the seeds on the wind. The plant is one of the fine choices for the wild patch, the bee garden and the study collection, and it has been written about in the culinary and the botanical papers for the bitter greens and the very long history. It is a fine, generous plant of the open, sunny, well-drained garden.
Keep the young plants in the open, sunny spot, and the gold heads will come in the first season.
To grow the dandelion from seed, sow the small, brown seeds on the surface of a tray of coarse, gritty soil, with a light press, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings thread up within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun and the well-drained ground, the gold heads will open through the spring.
Uses: Culinary/Medicinal/Beverage
Universally despised as a pesky weed, the lowly dandelion is actually one of the more useful herbs around. Dried roots are very popular as a coffee substitute. Promotes bile secretion.