Take a New Look at Dandelions

Today is Earth Day. In celebration, here is an article I wrote for my Canton Daily Ledger column in 2000. Over the years, it received many hits on social media and ran in newspapers across the country. Twenty years later, I hope you still find it pertinent and interesting.

Today is the 30th anniversary of Earth Day. On this day, take time to reflect about our world around us. You might even try to look at a small piece of our world from a completely different viewpoint. Take dandelions for example. To many people the dandelion is a weedy pest that invades our lawns; but other people find many positive attributes in the plant.

Kids love dandelions. They enjoy collecting masses of blooms to give to their mothers. As a mother, I equally enjoy receiving the clumps of yellow blooms. Tyler, my 5-year old, gives me another blossom almost every day and I love everyone he gives. They do not last long, but the thought is what really matters. Kids also love the seedheads that follow flowers. Who can’t remember blowing dandelions and watching them float on the breeze?

Dandelions have several uses including culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, and commercial. For at least 1,000 years, the dandelion has been in constant use as both a food and a medicine. Like so many plants, its origins were in the Mediterranean regions of Europe and Asia Minor.

History shows that the dandelion was brought to this country for its culinary uses. There are even books that detail how to grow this “new” crop. “About 4 pounds of seed to the acre should be allowed, sown in drills, 1 foot apart.” “The yield should be 4 or 5 tons of fresh roots to the acre in the second year.” Can you picture an entire field of dandelions? Actually, that is not difficult, since it is very prevalent in some grassy fields.

Dandelions are used commercially in the United States. Large quantities of the plant’s leaves supply a considerable popular demand for fresh spring greens in many ethnic grocery stores and supermarkets. Additionally, dandelion roots are domestically grown for use in patent medicines and more than 100,000 pounds are imported annually to fulfill the pharmaceutical needs.

In addition to the leaves, dandelions are cooked as a potherb or infused as a tea. One source says that it’s the dandelion flowers that pack a wallop! Yes, the flowers are also edible. My Grandma used to fry them like mushrooms in the early spring and I enjoyed eating them. But as Pamela Jones, the author of Just Weeds said, “If you have never tasted dandelion herbal wine, it is one of the most elusive, delicately fragrant flavors imaginable, the color pure liquid gold.”

So, look at the dandelion differently this Earth Day. You might even celebrate the day with a salad of dandelion greens, followed by fried flower heads and a glass of dandelion wine. Supposedly the best dandelions are found where no lawnmower has touched them. But, of utmost importance look for a lawn that has not been sprayed if you plan to eat from it.