Have you ever looked out over your yard and been bubbly over all the dandelions you see?! No? …… What do you mean they’re a weed?!? Have lost your…… no, I’m calm… Besides giving wishes to kids everywhere, dandelions are a backyard herb! A superfood some say. Read on to learn about this herb you didn’t know was in your backyard. I’ve even included some recipes at the end of this post!
Basic Dandelion Facts
People love to hate dandelions, viewing them only as weeds marring their otherwise perfectly green (and boring!) lawns. However, dandelions are in the same plant family as daisies and sunflowers! The name dandelion comes from the French “dent de lion”, which means “lion’s tooth”, so named for the jagged leaves.
Look at those “lion’s teeth” dandelion leaves! Image source: Wellness Mama Blog
Colonists transported dandelions to the new world for their herbal and culinary uses.
The Dandelion Life Cycle
I just had to include this. My oldest son started kindergarten this year, and one of the big topics they covered in depth was plant and animal life cycles! Fun fact: did you know every part of the dandelion is edible?
Dandelions are perennial flowers, which means they come back every year without any help. They bloom in the late spring, and you can harvest various parts from the early spring (the rosette) all the way to the fall (the root). The dandelion blooms with the sun each day and closes with sunset. When the dandelion is ready to produce its seeds, it becomes a blowball! Each seed has its own parachute, and can travel up to 5 miles on the wind!
Everything you need to know about the super edible dandelion! Image source: [amazon_textlink asin=’B01FIX7VQ4′ text=’Foraging and Feasting: a Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’twoacresonadr-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’e69141db-5c6d-11e8-8a7a-e9954284359b’] [<—affiliate link!]
Top Benefits of Dandelions
Like many herbs, the scientific community hasn’t vested many resources into studying the effects of nature’s natural medicines. I guess if I was the medical community, I wouldn’t research an herb my patients could pluck from their backyard!
Liver Support
Your backyard dandelions are high in antioxidants. Vitamin C and luteolin being just two. These two help the liver maintain optimal function. The liver is critical to all metabolic processes in the body, so if you’re looking to improve your health, give your liver some love. With the help of vitamin K (which dandelion has a lot of!), your liver makes proteins to aid in blood clotting! Something that should really get your attention: the liver breaks down fat to create energy!
[click_to_tweet tweet=”With the help of vitamin K (which dandelion has a lot of!), your liver makes proteins to aid in blood clotting! #herbalremedies #dandelions #naturalmedicine” quote=”With the help of vitamin K (which dandelion has a lot of!), your liver makes proteins to aid in blood clotting! “]
Blood Sugar
Dandelions have diuretic properties, which means they help us pee more. This helps our bodies remove excess sugars and toxins processed by the kidneys. Of course, we all probably need to drink more water in the first place. So if you ingest dandelion in any form, be sure to increase your water intake!
Skin Care
Dandelion milk or sap (from the hollow stem of the flower) is known to be fungicidal and microbial, so it could be beneficial in treating skin infections and fungi. Because of its detoxifying nature, topical application of dandelion herbal remedies can help treat acne. The high amounts of vitamin C help heal skin wounds as well.
Cancer?
Some people use dandelions to help treat cancer, but as I said there is insufficient research to support this conclusion. Dandelions are also supposed to help with inflammation, so I wonder if dandelion should be added to my fibromyalgia herbs post….. I’ll have to look into this more.
Dandelion Recipes and Remedies
My friend Adam, fellow chicken owner, had this to say about dandelions:
“Pull the whole plant out root and all. Wash the root and cook and blend into soups, the leaves should be cooked like chard or collard greens.”
And my friend Linda, a natural living mama, raved (<—Follow her on IG. She posts the best pictures!):
“Yes! My first experience with Dandelions was with Dandy Blend. I was using it as a substitute to coffee, they used ground dandelion root and add chicory root and roasted barley to it. I fell in love with this 
💓 Then throughout both of my pregnancies I mixed my own Fecundity Tea and added a lot of dandelion leaf to it because of all its health benefits. Definitely noticed a positive difference in how I feel whenever I use it in my diet especially while pregnant! I have a lot more energy and my skin looks great 
:)”
Got to remember to ask Linda for her tea recipe!
Fellow homestead blogger Stephanie from Happily Homegrown offered this dandelion jelly recipe for y’all to try. Like her, I have some little children I can get to help me with this one!
Ashley, from Practical Self Reliance, offered a recipe that is near and dear to my heart because it has WINE in the title! That’s right everyone, dandelion WINE! Let’s do this!
So Are Dandelions a Backyard Herb or a Weed?
What do you think now? Dandelions were highly valued up until the 1800’s, before we started tearing up native grasses and plants to put down (mostly useless) green carpets. If you have a patch of untreated lawn that blesses you with dandelion, count yourself lucky! I certainly do!
Do you make dandelion tea, or toss dandelion leaves into your salads? What do you think of the recipes and remedies in this article? Do you have some we should try? Share in the comments!
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