Common Dandelion, Dandelion, Blowball,Taraxacum officinale,Sunflower Family (Asteraceae)

4/7/2023

Found everywhere, at roadsides and in disturbed soil from sea-level to alpine peaks
Seen blooming on April 3, 2023 in my backyard

The first bloom I saw this year is generally considered a weed and a nuisance, especially in lawns, but it has culinary and medicinal uses. Dandelions grow from 2 to 16 inches tall with a single flower head on a milky, hollow stem and sharply toothed basal leaves. The many toothed petals produce a sphere of silvery fluffy seeds. A single plant can produce more than 5,000 seeds a year.

All parts of the Dandelion are edible. Young leaves and buds can be used raw in salads or smoothies, or cooked and added to soups and stews. Georgia O’Keeffe combined them with mashed potatoes, here is the recipe. Older leaves become bitter. The roots can be also be eaten and used to make coffee, the flowers are used to make a delicate, pale-yellow wine. Dandelions have been used in herbal medicine to treat infections, bile and liver problems, as a diuretic, as a mild laxative, for increasing appetite, and improving digestion. Source. The milky latex has been used as a mosquito repellent and as a folk remedy to treat warts. The flowers produce a yellow dye and the roots a magenta color.

If you trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flowers bloom this month. If you cannot identify a flower from the website send a photo and where you took it to contact@rockymountainsflora.com. Read online for tips.

1 Comment

Nancy Carter

4/7/2023 07:58:14 am

Name derives from the French dent de lion or dents de lion (either way, pronounced dahn-duh-leeohn), meaning lion's tooth (or teeth), either because of the jagged leaves or because of the lion-like mane effect of the toothed petals. There is a North American native dandelion but the ones we commonly see came from Europe. I think they're beautiful, especially carpeting some places with sunshiney yellow in spring.

Author

I am Marilyn Phillips, a native of England, whose love of nature and the outdoors from childhood brought me by a circuitous route to Crested Butte, Colorado in 1993 and 16 years later to northern New Mexico. My exploration of the many trails in these areas, my interest in wildflowers and photography, and career in computer system design came together in this creation. If you have any corrections, comments or questions, please contact me by email.