Dandelion
(Taraxacum officinal)

As a weed Dandelion is very famous. It is sprayed out of our lawns with poisonous chemicals, chemicals that harm the planet and humans. Humans are trying to eradicate this precious, harmless plant.

As an herb, Dandelion is extremely beneficial. The botanical name is Taraxacum officinale, meaning bitter herb. The Greek meaning is taraxos (disorder) and akos (pain) refers to the medical effects of the plant.

• Dandelions appear in their entire splendor in cool weather, April through June, and disappear during hot temperatures. Dandelions close up when it is about to rain, so you can use them as a weather vane.

• The Dandelion is so versatile, you can use all of its parts. The leaves are sweet and tender when they first appear, they become bitter with age. Always remember, bitter is better for your health. The flower heads are used in salads, teas, and fried in coconut oil. The stems milk is rubbed on "brown spots" on your hands.
• The Dandelion is one of the first spring flowers providing pollen for the insects. Bees love it and are sustained by it in early spring. Dandelion pollen is important in the making of honey.

• Dandelion is known to give life to the liver. It is a liver cleanser and strengthener. It is used to help produce breast milk. Dandelion oil is used in body massage, and is healthy for breast massage. It is also known as a blood purifier. The uses for this wonderful herb are almost unbelievable. It is high in Vitamin A, B, C, D, as well as other enzymes, acids, and sugars, all which lead to health for your entire body.

• Dandelion is a alterative plant, which means it can gradually alter and correct impure conditions. It can be used internally and externally. By far the most common use of Dandelion is dietary. In other countries, people relish the greens.

• Instead of trying to end the life of dandelions, we should be planting and harvesting them. They obviously are an important plant, or there would not be so many of them. They would not fight so hard to survive, they would all lay down and die.

• A lawn should be filled with this plant, better yet, there should be no ornamental lawns. If people stopped using herbicides, fertilizers and watering the grass, we would save our rivers, and have plenty of water to grow the food necessary to feed our families.

• There are no contraindications listed for Dandelion.

Reading Material: Dandelion Medicine by Brigitte Mars

Definition:
7=Freshness, Spirit, Enthusiasm
8- Supreme Quality, Healing
11=Earth, Warmth, Comfort, Stability

Will we one day say: "I remember when there used to be all these beautiful yellow flowers in our yards every spring and we killed them all; so too, died the bees who drank of the dandelions, and the fishes in the rivers who could not breathe for the algae growth, which was caused by lawn fertilizers and herbicides used to kill the dandelions, choked them." ---------- and on and on it goes.