Dandelion...Taraxacum officinale....

Dandelion when it comes to weedy medicine is one most people know, as an ally or a plain ol annoyance in their lawns. Sometimes confused with 'Cats Ear', Hypocheris radiata, due to their similar rosette of leaves. You can tell for sure once they flower, as Cats Ear has multiple flowers to one stem whilst Dandelion has only one flower per stem. Also Dandelions wart killing milky white sap isnt shared in the leaves of Cats Ear, appearing only in the root.

As a green vegetable, and medicine, Dandelion leaves contain Vitamins A, B, C and D, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, sulphur, magnesium, silica, choline, nitrogen and chlorophyll, explaining only part of why its been popular, and in use for centuries as a tonic and blood purifier. Its name, Taraxacum, translates as 'remedy of disorders'. Not bad for a free source of nutrition!

 If my livers having a rough time I need look no furthur than Dandelion, who's a specialist in that field. I drink infusions of the leaf, a couple of handfulls brewed in a quart jar for at least 4 hours, even better overnight, upto 2 cups a day. If it feels too strong, simply water it down some, add sweetener or you can use 10-40 drops of the tincture 2-4 times a day, in water, for as long as necessary. A tablespoon of dandelion leaf vinegar can be sprinkled over food or mixed in salad dressings. A vinegar of the roots is great for 'grounding'.

Dandelion roots can be scrubbed, dried and then used to make a coffee substitute with that full taste but not stimulating of the heart like coffee. You can grind em up, but they work in chunks too. Growing your own patch can ensure long rootsystems for this purpose. Propagation is literally a breeze, what child hasnt plucked a dandelion seedhead and blown its seeds, perhaps making a wish....

Because it absorbs two or three times as much iron as any other plant dandelion is excellent in the compost heap and is used as one of the 'six herbal activators' in biodynamic quick return compost mixtures. If you can bear to part with some of your stash!