Parts Used
Properties
Common Uses
Locating and Handling
Caution
Origin
"MEDICAL USE -- The young leaves of this plant in a blanched state have the taste of endive, and make an excellent addition to those plants eaten early in the spring as salads. At Gottingen the roots are roasted, and substituted for coffee, by the poorer inhabitants; who find that an infusion prepared in this way can hardly be distinguished from that of the coffee berry. The origin of its name is curious. Leontodon, Greek, Lion's Tooth, from the toothed-like appearance of the leaf; Lionis Dens, Latin, from the Greek; Dent de Lion, French, from the Latin; and hence our word from the French, Dan-de-lion; also called Piss-a-bed, from its diuretic quality, which children experience who eat the young plant.
The leaves and roots of this plant are bitter, and contain a bitter milky juice. They have been esteemed to be diuretic, saponaceous, and resolvent, and to be powerful remedies for removing obstructions of the liver, and of the other viscera. Their purified expressed juice has been given from two to six ounces, twice, thrice, or oftener in the day; and infusions and decoctions of the herb and root have been used for the same purposes."
Roots, Leaves
Diuretic, laxative, appetite stimulant, blood builder, antiseptic, tonic, wound healing, carminative
The root may be roasted, then ground and added to coffee or chocolate, or used as a "coffee substitute." Dandelion greens may be used instead of spinach as a cooked vegetable or in salad. To remove the bitter taste, you can blanch the leaves in boiling water. Dandelion wine is a popular folk tonic.
If you don't have them in your own yard, collect the seeds from wild plants and plant them in the spring.
None
Native to Europe and Asia. First recorded in 10th century Arabian medical journals.
