THE DANDELION

 

Here are some interesting facts about the dandelion flower:

 

• The dandelion is the only flower that represents the 3 celestial bodies of the sun, moon and stars.

  • The yellow flower resembles the sun, the puff ball resembles the moon and the dispersing seeds resemble the stars.

• The dandelion flower opens to greet the morning and closes in the evening to go to sleep.

• Every part of the dandelion is useful: root, leaves, flower. It can be used for food, medicine and dye for coloring.

• Up until the 1800s people would pull grass out of their lawns to make room for dandelions and other useful “weeds” like chickweed, malva, and chamomile.

• The name dandelion is taken from the French word “dent de lion” meaning lion’s tooth, referring to the coarsely-toothed leaves.

• Dandelions have one of the longest flowering seasons of any plant.

• Dandelion seeds are often transported away by a gust of wind and they travel like tiny parachutes. Seeds are often carried as many as 5 miles from their origin!

• Animals such as birds, insects and butterflies consume nectar or seed of dandelion.

• Dandelion flowers do not need to be pollinated to form seed.

• Dandelion can be used in the production of wine and root beer. Root of dandelion can be used as a substitute for coffee.

• Dandelions have sunk their roots deep into history. They were well known to ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, and have been used in Chinese traditional medicine for over a thousand years.

• Dandelion is used in folk medicine to treat infections and liver disorders. Tea made of dandelion act as diuretic.

• If you mow dandelions, they’ll grow shorter stalks to spite you.

• Dandelions are, quite possibly, the most successful plants that exist, masters of survival worldwide.

• A not so fun fact: Every year countries spend millions on lawn pesticides to have uniform lawns of non-native grasses, and we use 30% of the country’s water supply to keep them green.