The Common Dandelion
The days are longer and warmer as the sun shines down on us. That sun is repeated hundreds of time on our lawns and the country roadsides where brilliant golden dandelions and coltsfoot are blooming.
Though dandelions are despised by those who treasure their turf, I’ve never been fussy enough or determined enough to try and eradicate the dandelions in my lawn. I do pinch off the yellow blossoms sometimes, preventing them from going to seed, and I’m delighted to accept all dandelion bouquets from little children. Again, fewer flowers to produce seed.
Dandelions annoy a lot of people, but they do have their uses. I remember my grandmother paying me to dig up the dandelions in the lawn, not because she was trying to improve her turf, but because my grandfather liked dandelions in his salad.
In addition to eating dandelions, people drink dandelions. I cannot say that I have ever tasted dandelion wine which is made from the blossoms, with a few other things added, but I do like the idea of drinking dandelions. In the olden days dandelion leaves were – and perhaps still are- used to make beer in England and Canada. This fermented drink was considered quite wholesome and was less alcoholic than regular beer.
Dandelion roots have been used in drinks as well. Roots were harvested in the fall, dried and roasted and then ground up and made into a kind of coffee, much as chicory is. Other drinks made from the roots were used medicinally as a kind of tonic and stimulant to the general system, but especially to the urinary tract.
The milky white juice of dandelions is also said to get rid of warts. There are lots of wart remedies in this world, many of which work mysteriously. When my middle daughter was in her teens she had warts and the doctor told her to draw circles around them with a pencil and they would disappear. They did! Dandelion juice might work as well.
Humans tend to think about how things directly affect us, for good or ill, but we shouldn’t forget how important certain plants are to other living creatures. Dandelions are a rich source of nectar for honey bees in the early spring when there is not much else blooming. At another stage, their seeds will feed small birds.
I used to think that I saw dandelions growing along the side of the road, as well as in the middle of my lawn, but when I stopped to take a look I realized these golden flowers that looked so similar to dandelions were leafless and had stems that looked as though they had scales instead of being smooth. I later identified them as coltsfoot.
Coltsfoot is an herb that is named for the shape of its 4 inch wide leaves which appear just as the flower has finished blooming. It has also been known by variations on that name like Bullsfoot and Foalswort. Another name is Filius ante patrem or the son before the father, referring to the fact that the flowers appear before the leaves.
There is still another name for coltsfoot which is Coughwort, an indication that it is used in remedies for a cough. All parts of the plant are rich in mucilage and were very popular as a cough medicine, sometimes being combined with similar qualities like horehound and marshmallow. Not only was coltsfoot drunk, it was smoked to relieve difficult breathing. These are old remedies and some date back 2000 years when Pliny the Elder was observing and writing.
I have coltsfoot growing alongside our road in particularly damp spots. The roadside is disturbed every winter with snowplowing and in the spring by grading. This disturbance of the soil encourages the growth of coltsfoot. When the leaves appear they get lost in the general green of roadside grasses and other ‘weeds’.
Dandelions and coltsfoot are listed in herbals that describe the plant, the seasons of their growth and their medicinal uses, but they are also listed in garden books under the heading of weeds. Like many weeds they provide a special service to gardeners, as soil indicators.
It is no surprise to me that dandelions and coltsfoot both tell me that my soil is wet, acid and clay. Other weeds indicate the level of soil fertility. For example, daisies, Queen Anne’s lace and the common mullein all speak about low fertility. Cultivation and fertilization will not necessarily eradicate all weeds, but they will be different weeds like chickweed, chicory and groundsel.
I know that many of us curse the weeds in our garden and don’t worry about calling them by name, but it is fun to be able to name plants. I found a wonderful book recently, Weeds of the Northeast by Richard Uva, Joseph Neal and Joseph DiTomaso, which will help with weed identification. Each of the weeds gets a two page spread, one page describing all the parts of the plant and its various phases. The other page has clear photos of the different stages from seedling to seed.
Naming the plants in our gardens, whether herbs or weeds, is another way of enjoying the garden and feeling the interconnectedness of all things including with all those through the centuries who tended their own gardens in other places and climes.
May 1, 2006