I would be remiss in my herbalist duties if I didn’t talk about this plant. Taraxacum off is, in my opinion, the springtime herb. Actually, it deserves a spot front and center in the medicine chest all year round. Dandelion is one of the first plants that push back through the soil in the spring. Keep an eye out, you’ll start seeing her familiar face soon. All parts of dandelion are edible and medicinal. In the early spring, harvest baby leaves to use in tea, salad, or just to snack on as you walk. Dandelion is great for the liver, promotes bile flow and is full of antioxidant properties.
Traditionally, after a long dark winter, people would eat dandelion to help boost energy for the upcoming season, and rebuild after not having access to fresh food. We, as people in 2022 have access to fresh food all year round, but your body could still probably use extra support. It’s common for people to move less and eat less fresh food during the winter. Dandelion is a liver tonic and helps the liver move toxins out of the body. It also can help reduce any excess water you may be holding in the body.
Pollinators love them and dandelion flowers are some of the first food that local bees eat. You can add the flowers to salads, make jelly with them, or even imbibe with some dandelion wine. Be careful where you harvest though, most people spray dandelions.
When I was going through the advanced program in herb school went for a lunchtime walk. I found a seemingly safe and beautiful patch of dandelions growing along the fence of a neighbor’s yard. Being a still new and very enthusiastic herbalist, picked both the flowers and the leaves and happily gobbled them up. They were savory, bitter and tasted like springtime. My belly started gurgling. “Amazing,” I thought, “I know Taraxicum can promote digestion, but damn that was fast!”
By the time dinner rolled around, I had been on the toilet for at least three hours with no hope of leaving the bathroom anytime soon. It took weeks for my stomach to feel normal again. I’d bet money that those dandelions had been sprayed with glyphosate (RoundUp). I’ve done some digging and you can read cases of acute glyphosate poisoning on Pubmed.com. While I definitely don’t ever want to experience that again, I’m glad I did so that you don’t have to. Definitely be careful where you choose to harvest your wild-weeds.