Blooming marvellous!
Most of us know what dandelion looks like, but if you don’t it’s the yellow flower that appears all over the place in April, particularly in the middle of your lawn! Although it’s not liked by gardeners because it is so robust and can grow almost anywhere, it’s an impressive plant with a wealth of uses and a vital early source of nectar for our bees and other insects.
Aside from its status as a ‘weed’, there is also a possible cultural reason it is disliked in our lawns. I researched this a few years ago to try and understand why the dandelion creates such an annoyance to folk and I discovered an interesting path for this humble plant. It was taken by the settlers to America to be grown for food and medicine, usually planted in areas near the house for easy access. As the settlers became more affluent and extra land was purchased, the areas designated for dandelions were moved further away from the house, giving way to grass areas for recreation. Having a lawn for sitting outside was a status symbol and I can only assume that somewhere along history’s path this thinking made its way back across the pond to the UK – it is my theory that this is why we dislike dandelions in our lawns so much.
Despite its reputation, the dandelion is an impressive plant, with the leaf, flower and root of the dandelion all used in both food and medicine. The leaf is a mild diuretic which can be helpful in treating fluid retention and if used before the flower appears it is sweet to taste. After it has flowered it does have a more bitter edge, but this is useful in that they stimulate the vagus nerve which in turn stimulates enzymes to aid digestion. The flower itself can be used to make a delicious wine or to create a vegan honey, it has a lot of sugar in the recipe but it really does taste of honey!
The root gently stimulates bile flow through the liver which aids digestion, it contains inulin (not to be confused with insulin) which is a prebiotic and helps to create a good environment for probiotics to flourish. This all contributes to creating and maintaining a healthy gut which can have many benefits, including improving immune function and a lower incidence of disease and allergies. As well as improving health, the root tastes similar to coffee when it is roasted, with hints of chocolate and caramel and I like to add a touch of honey to the roots when roasting to counter the bitterness and draw out the other flavours. Dandelion coffee has a rich history from the war era when real coffee was hard to come by and there are still wartime dandelion coffee recipes in existence.
These are just a few of the human uses for dandelion, but we must not forget how many insects also feed on the flowers. At this time of year they are some of the only flowers in bloom and leaving them to grow in May makes a huge difference to our bees and other pollinators so they have access to this vital nectar source. Why not join the increasing group of people who pledge not to mow their lawns in May and let the dandelions bloom –let’s be honest, it’s one less job off the to do list!
Natasha Lloyd is a qualified and experienced Medical Herbalist, Mycotherapist and Forager, based in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. She trained at the College of Phytotherapy and then at the University of East London. Awarded a BSc (Hons) Herbal Medicine in 2013, she has been teaching foraging for 21 years and is the In House Forager to The Fife Arms, Braemar and Lead Finance Director for The National Institute of Medical Herbalists. She has a book coming out on 24th June called ‘Foraged Condiments’.