Dandy fun facts about the Dandelion

I must admit before going any further with this article that, I myself have always disliked dandelions. I know they are cute and fuzzy but they severely impact the color scheme of my lawn. I decided that with knowledge comes power, so I set out to learn about Taraxacum officinale or Lawnness infestess weedess the Dandelion.

The first thing I found out was they were brought here on purpose from Europe. There it was used as a vegetable green, medicinal plant and drum roll please an ingredient in the manufacture of a traditional soft drink when it was combined with burdock(Arctium lappa) it is said to have tasted similar to Sarsaparilla. It is also used to make Dandelion wine. There are even sources which say you can grind the root to make a coffee substitute.

I was also surprised that there many vitamins and minerals which can be gained through its consumption.

The question I still have is how they learned to duck when the mower deck approachs.

Well that is what I have learned about the yellow headed lawn invader. It was interesting but I still don’t think I am going to smile at their arrival next spring.

References used for article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelion_and_burdock
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/williamsc44.html