Walk Softly – Dandelions

by Geoffrey Carpentier

Finally, it’s spring, and look at all those lovely yellow flowers in my lawn. Oh wait, dandelions, yippee! We see them, by the tens of thousands, every year and most of us simply ignore them, yet some folks continue to try to eliminate them completely. Historically, in Ontario, we would have our lawn sprayed, to make it look better and to remove those ‘annoying’ weeds. However, now we have been forced by the Ontario government to be more tolerant, as the Pesticides Act was amended in 2009, to remove the cosmetic use of pesticides to control plants and animals not requiring control, and, more importantly, to take potentially harmful pesticides out of the hands of inexperienced homeowners. The net result is, we have mostly learned to live with plants we still consider weeds. A weed is simply a plant growing in the wrong place. A plant is a plant.

Well, since we must live with this plant, why not learn a bit about it? Despite how common it is, it is not native to North America, it originated in Eurasia and was introduced to North America as a food crop. Its name is derived from the French ‘dent de lion’ or ‘lion's tooth’. It has had some other interesting historical names, such as blowball, cankerwort, milk-witch, yellow-gowan, Irish daisy, monks-head, priest's-crown, puff-ball, faceclock, pee-a-bed & wet-a-bed (due to its diuretic properties), swine's snout and white endive. It is a perennial plant in the daisy family. I think we all know what it looks like, so I’ll skip that description, but did you know the seed pods (large fluffy, circular gray tufts) are called ‘clocks’, both here and in Europe?

Hardy plants, they thrive from early spring to late fall and grow in temperate zones, in areas with moist soils. Tolerant of crowding, extremes of temperature and low moisture, dandelions thrive in many parts of the world, including South Georgia Island, in the extreme southern reaches of the Atlantic Ocean! Opportunistic plants, they spread rapidly, partly due to their tolerance for less than ideal conditions, but also since they generally reproduce asexually, producing clones of themselves. Not to be outdone, when conditions are good, they can also reproduce sexually, like most plants, thus ensuring genetic diversity in the population as a whole.

From an economic perspective, it causes significant agricultural losses throughout its range. One interesting fact, I found, is, it is a good indicator of the characteristics of local soils where it grows, as it favours soils with low calcium levels and high potassium concentrations. It also may be a beneficiary of climate change, in that it thrives in conditions of elevated carbon dioxide, growing to a higher biomass and producing a larger number of viable seeds under those conditions. Therefore, it is anticipated it will become more competitive and widespread as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increase. To add to its arsenal for survival, it can produce 5,000 seeds a year and these seeds remain viable in the soil for up to 9 years!

Is there a good side to them? Perhaps. Their leaves are known as a good ingredient in garden salads (young leaves) or as cooked greens (older leaves), and the roots can be used to make a coffee substitute. The leaves are high in vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.

Favour a sip of wine? Dandelion flowers can be used to make this potent potable and if you have a sweet tooth, recipes are known for jams and syrups.

It has many reported medicinal properties. Teas are known to treat ailments of the liver, gallbladder, kidney and bladder, in addition to relief from mild constipation and impaired digestion. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years as a diuretic. It also has known uses to treat yeast infections. One strange and perhaps less pleasant attribute, of its use as a stimulant for weight loss, is the resulting influence toward enhanced flatulence! Well, maybe this plant is more than just an annoying weed!

Geoff Carpentier is a published author, expedition guide and environmental consultant. Visit Geoff on-line on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.