Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale, Hindi: Dudhali):

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale, Hindi: Dudhali Kanphul, Blowball, Sanskrit: Simhadanti ): 

The humble Dandelion is frequently uprooted by the farmer as a weed and a pest, yet its effect on the soil is beneficial. The dandelion is a valuable plant as a nutrient accumulator, soil builder and space holder. As children we could instinctively distinguish it from the other weeds.  We would chew up the tender leaves simply because they made us feel good after eating. Children have a natural instinct of what is good for them if they are growing up in a natural environment.

The smiling, sunny flowers would invite us with hidden stories. We would float the flowers in water, in hand made mud or glass bowls,    warm them in the sun, and drink the distillate. The flowers then went for decorating our mud houses. Much later I read about dandelion flowers wine which was common in Western countries

and about Bach flowers remedies which are prepared in the same manner, by using the subtle potency of the flowers. But at the time, the delight was only in experimenting on the color chemistry, contrast of Brown earth, Yellow flowers and the warming Golden Sunshine or the dancing patterns in the glass bowl and the joy of watching the happy flowers seeping out their essence into the sunny bowl. And Oh! The joy of sipping that water!

And when the flowers dried into millions of stars! That was a wonderful sport; you blow on it and watch them float like fairies in the air. The last one invites a wish or a test for a friend, she likes me, she likes me not. On turning them into fairy clocks and tell the time by the number of seeds left after blowing.

When visiting France, we were fortunate to experience the visual treat of entire hills lighting up with yellow dandelion flowers. There they call it ‘Piss on lit’, literally meaning piss on the bed. Very apt since the entire plant is a powerful diuretic. In fact the name dandelion has come from the French word ‘Dent de Lion’- Tooth of the lion. But they do not pluck from the hill sides, since in France; harmful germs that can be carried by wild animals are dreaded vampires. Luckily we visited a potter who lived at the edge of a forest far away from anywhere and they did pluck the leaves to add to salad.

Uses:

All parts of plants are useful: roots, flowers and leaves as decoction

a)      Root as dandelion coffee is a powerful detox.

b)      Leaves are very rich in Vitamin C as salad.

c)     Whole plant is a powerful diuretic, detox, liver, kidney, swelling, skin, stomach and digestive remedy.

d)      Excellent for Arthritis, particularly rheumatoid arthritis (decoction of roots and leaves, one glass morning and evening).

e)      Shredded root boiled in water and 1 cup of decoction is excellent for diabetes.

^Footnote - The Dandelion’s wide spreading roots loosen hard packed soil, aerate the earth and help reduce erosion. The deep tap root pulls nutrients e.g. calcium from deep in the soil and makes them available to other plant soil around the dandelion .The nutrients are also stored in the leaves. Dried falling leaves and the roots enrich the soil. The root should be harvested when the plants start drawing back all the nutrients of the leaves and whole plant to the roots. It is liked by earthworm as this plant is a natural hummus producer, the soil where dandelion tend to grow is generally healthy and fertile but tends to be acidic. To improve the Ph balance, it is advised to add a little lime or wood ash to the soil.