Dandelion is a common garden weed found worldwide. Dandelion makes healthy soil, loosening compacted soil and aerating the ground, restoring minerals to soils that are depleted. Dandelions prefer uncalcified soil, as they send out a thick tap root that pulls calcium from far below, drawing it up to the surface. A 2015 article in The Guardian on the environmental benefits of dandelion speaks to how crucial dandelions are to pollinators and birds:
“While in flower for most of the year, the dandelion’s peak flowering time is from late March to May, when many bees and other pollinators emerge from hibernation. Each flower in fact consists of up to 100 florets, each one packed with nectar and pollen...Bumblebees, solitary bees and honeybees all visit dandelions for food, along with hoverflies, beetles, and butterflies such as the peacock and holly blue. Goldfinches and house sparrows eat the seed.”
Dandelion‘s common name comes from the French “dent de lion” meaning lion’s tooth. There are many dandelion look-alikes in the Asteraceae (daisy) family, so it is this descriptor that is one of your best guides to identifying and harvesting the correct herb. The leaves of true dandelion are serrated and look like sharp lion’s teeth, while look-alikes have a more rounded leaf edge. A single yellow flower crowns the top of true dandelion stalks, while look-alikes have branching stalks with multiple flower heads. In addition, dandelion flower stalks are hollow and exude a white latex substance when severed from the plant.
Harvest the young spring leaves for salads and pestos and the roots in the fall.