DandelionsA Great Weed!

Nature Lesson 51

1

2Aivaras Ciurlionis

3 Jayaprakash R.

4 Randi Hauskin

5

Andr

ew d

ixon

6Ron Dunnington

7

Markku Akerfelt

8

Dou

g W

helle

r

9the weed one

10the weed one

11

Elaine

12the weed one

13

Elaine

14

David Illig

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Its genus name is Taraxacum, which means remedy for disorders.

Every part of the plant--the leaves, the stems, the flowers, the roots--can be used

for food or medicine.

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1. Herb tea can be made from the leaves.2. Dandelions were one of the original

bitter herbs of Passover.3. Eat the greens boiled or make a salad

with young fresh greens.4. You can brew a hot drink from the

roasted roots. Here is a link telling how to do this: http://

www.mountainroseherbs.com/newsletter/10/march/dandelion.php

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Wash young dandelion leaves and remove any tough stems. (Make sure you gather leaves from a place where no chemical

weed-killer or insecticides have been used.) Mix them with lettuce in your salad. The

older leaves are more bitter, so it is best to gather dandelion leaves early in the spring before flowers form or late in the summer

after a frost.

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Ounce for ounce, dandelion greens contain 50% more vitamin C than tomatoes, double

the protein of eggplant, and twice the fiber of asparagus. In addition, their iron content

equals that of spinach, and their potassium content exceeds that of bananas.

Dandelion is truly one of God’s choice herbs!