May 22 , 2008

By Nick Routledge for the Observer Magazine Allotment Blog

Heathcare as Peacemaking:
a Monograph on Dandelion

An edge of my garden is a field and in the late spring, before the farmer has arrived with his mower and cut everything down, a thick, gorgeous, downwind carpet of flowering dandelions extends directly out from the borders of my world. I smile upon this cast of dandelions - an influence 'beyond' my reach.

My relationship with 'weeds' has shifted fundamentally through the years. I see now that when I first arrived at gardening, an enormous mishmash of subtle cultural conditioning very largey defined my response to dandelion: "Weeds are bad. Everybody says so. It must be true." But as Paula Jones' fiery denunication suggests, 'unthinkingly' accepting any plant's 'weed label' severely limits how we respond to it from the get-go: "It's a curious fact that wild plants or herbs are gladly admired by the human race - even protected, if need be, against possible extinction. But let them be called weeds, however erroneously, and even kind, gentle souls turn to violence...I would like to see the word 'weed' abolished altogether for being one of the most intolerant, negative words in the English language." Certainly, my own experience through the years has confirmed that plants we commonly refer to as 'weeds' (and which includes the whole kit and caboodle of assumptions that go with such a label - pesky, ugly, difficult, useless, worthy of extinction, and the like) have revealed themselves, more often than not, as among my strongest plant allies.

Dandelion, of course, may well be the most reviled plant of modern times. Many, many millions of pounds and dollars support the incentive to control and eradicate this, the quintessential 'weed'. Gardening and war-making have become one. But just how sound is the basis for such antagonism?

As the American poet-philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, a weed is simply "a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered." Dandelion, though, is no newcomer to virtue, as its botanical name suggests. Its species name, 'officinale' means 'used in the [apothecary's] workshop.' This indicates that dandelion has long been used medicinally. Dandelion's genus name, 'Taraxacum' is derived from the Greek, 'taraxis', meaning 'disorder' and 'akos' meaning 'remedy'. Our predecessors named very few plants with such esteem. Yes, dandelion it transpires, not only has a history of medicinal use going back to ancient times, it has been a defining personality at the heart of local materia medicas, in temperate zones, the world over - and continues to be. Contemporary herbalists everywhere continue to rate dandelion as one of the superstars of the plant kingdom. Gregory Tilford: "Dandelion is one of the most complete plant foods on earth. All the vital nutrients are conveniently contained in a single source, in quantities that the body can easily process and fully absorb." It is difficult to say in which capacity dandelion is better known or valued - as food or medicine.

It all adds up, of course. The very same qualities which make the dandelion perhaps the world's most widespread plant - and which prompt such blind antagonism to it - are precisely those qualities which make it so valuable to us as 'med food.' Here we have a perennial food plant, hardy in all but the very harshest climates, able to tolerate all soils, in full sun to shade. It produces seeds without fertilization and also reproduces readily from root segments. Simply put, what we have here is a year-round source of food and medicine that is among the most welcoming of plants. Often also overlooked is the fact that dandelions wouldn't be so commonplace but for the fact that the soil loves them. In many cultures, dandelion is referred to as one of the great soil doctors. It creates drainage channels, aerates compacted soils, draws up nutrients from deep down, and attracts earthworms. It is an all-season food for scores of pollinators. Children love it. In other words, unlike many plants which require a great deal of horticultural experience to co-steward successfully over the long-term, dandelion extends a remarkably welcoming embrace.

I am a big fan of dandelion as a nutritive-medicinal and in this respect, it is a superlative representative of the strengths of phytomedicinals (herbs). Its abundance, safety, applicability in so many areas, and its effectiveness, make it in the words of the renowned American herbalist Susun Weed, "the family doctor supreme." What does she mean by this?

Nature making it easy: the plant as nutritive medicinal

Pharmaceutical/synthetic drugs can save lives in serious, acute diseases and may alleviate or even cure some chronic problems, but they are very poorly suited to the vast majority of chronic and minor ailments that fill the void between health and acute disease - a void left by the medical establishment when it began its romance with 'miracle drugs' such as penicillin.

In contrast to the single-mindedness of synthetic/pharmaceutical drugs which typically contain a very select and specialized compound or two, plus filler, usually non-nutritive, the biochemical compositions of plants are varying, complex, and subtle. The pharmacology of dandelion is especially diffused, and this astonishingly broad array of balanced constituents makes it a highly effective medicinal for a dizzying array of conditions. Dandelion is also perfectly safe to eat in quantity - it has no known contraindications and, as the dominant scientific paradigm readily confirms, it is one of the most nutritive of all green vegetables in overall nutritional value. It is a perfect exemplar of the truth that the finest food is the finest medicine.

This notion is categorically not a holistic healthcare fad. We see the richness of dandelion's medicinal profile reflected in specific medicinal actions. For example, dandelion has diuretic qualities, but unlike most conventional diuretics which cause an overall loss of potassium in the body, dandelion leaves contain high levels of potassium, giving a net gain of the mineral even as it helps you pee. This remarkable balance of properties makes dandelion particularly valuable when it is incorporated as a regular part of the diet, so that the appropriate bioactive substances are present as the body needs them.

"There is probably no existing condition which wouldn't benefit
from regularly consuming dandelions." - J. Wardell

There exists a wealth of material on dandelion's many healing properties and actions, written in language comprehensible by everyone from degreed pharmacologists to people with no interest at all in taming a medical vocabulary. The web is a good place to tailor your search to suit your own level of know-how. In the meantime, here's the briefest of overviews of dandelion's medicinal uses.

Dandelion is one of the most reliable alteratives in the materia medicas of the world's temperate zones - an alterative is a plant or procedure that stimulates broad-based changes of a defensive or healing nature in metabolism or tissue function where there is chronic or acute disease. An alterative gradually restores health and vitality to the body by helping the body assimilate nutrients, eliminate waste and restore proper function. Dandelion functions as a general tonic for overall health, and also has a specific affinity for particular organs. Working principally on the liver, gall bladder and kidneys, it encourages the steady elimination of toxins due to infection or pollution. As such, it has major therapeutic benefits for a sweeping range of conditions including but not limited to: arthritis, asthma, high blood pressure, fluid retention, eczema-psoriasis and other skin disorders, headaches with nausea, hives, chronic constipation, a broad range of liver conditions, allergies, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, PMS with breast tenderness, cystitis, urethritis, diabetes, osteoarthritis and other degenerative joint disorders, intestinal and colon congestion, cancer prevention and cure, anemia, and gout. It is excellent in treating chronic inflammatory conditions.

Dandelion certainly covers several bases for me. If you have an inkling it might support you, too, what then? How might you begin incorporating dandelion into your diet? What are the implications for your relationship with your garden? The English permaculture designer Patrick Whitefield: "harvesting becomes weeding when when a plant grows faster than we can eat it, and becomes harvesting again when our appetite catches up with the plant's growth."

What Patrick neglects to note and what has surprised me greatly as I began making dandelion a centerpiece of my own dietary regimen, is that it is not difficult to over-harvest dandelion and force it out of a garden. Historically we have already seen the consequences of this kind of imbalance. Overzealous harvesting of dandelion in the British Isles in the 1950's drove the plant close to disappearance there, and prompted the founding of a 'Save Our Dandelions Society'.

This significant, cautionary history alerts us to a key dimension of nurturing a healthy, working, sustainable relationship with dandelion - or any other plant - namely, the vital role of a balanced, mutually supportive dance of plant and human ecologies. As it happens, this concern points directly to the strengths of home- and community-based healthcare. One of the central contributions of herbalism to our understanding of the foundations of health, is that our very proximity to the source of our food and medicine, and the quality and intimacy of our relationship with these allies, have a direct bearing on their applicability and effectiveness as food and/or medicine. We live in ecological context and the food and medicine that work best for us is the med-food we steward at our very feet. Its interests and health, and ours, are one.

Identifying Dandelion

Dandelion may be the world’s most recognizeable plant. Then again, you will find its form is quite variable. Most of the variability is found in the leaves – even on the same plant. The word ‘dandelion’ is derived from the French ‘dents-de-lion’ or ‘lion’s teeth’, which many believe refers to the plant’s leaf shape. Very often the leaves do show very pronounced teeth (with many shallow-to deep-cut lobes) but often the teeth are only slightly in evidence (the leaves are lobeless). Every leaf on every plant is quite different.

Reaching in length from 2” to 16”, the leaves spring directly from the ground. They feel smooth to the touch. No hairs, warts or pricks. The flowers are golden 1 ½” – 2” in diameter and flower almost anytime of the year but most intensely in the Spring and Fall when they are open most of the time between sunrise and sunset. Dandelion flowers less in the summer heat, with the flowers closing as the day heats up. Flower stems can reach a height of 20”.

“Dandelion has no poisonous look-alikes.” – James Green

Dandelion grows from a taproot, about as thick as your little finger, often about one foot deep with many branched crowns (that part of the plant between the root, and the leaves and flower stems). All parts of the plant contain a milky white sap. Other milky-sapped ‘weeds’ with fluffy yellow flowers are occasionally mistaken for dandelion, especially cat’s ear/cat’s paw/false dandelion (Hypochaeris radicata and H. glabra) which are safe to eat.

Hypochaeris radicata (Cat's Ear) on the left and Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion) on the right.

But a defining characteristic makes dandelion easy to I.D. – unlike its lookalikes, it has hollow, unbranched flower stems. These, and the leaves, grow directly out of the crown rosette. If the plant in question has any branched or divided stalks/stems, it is not a dandelion. Although a plant may have many stalks, each ends in a single flower. “One stalk: one flower.” So, if in doubt, wait until the plant you are curious about is in flower. With just a little practice, though, you will come to easily recognize this ally, in flower or not, at a glance.

Dandelion and you

You might think of your own health and that of the dandelion community about you as spanning an unbroken spectrum of experience. This perception grows naturally out of our own direct experiments growing, harvesting and using dandelion through the seasons. Here are some initial pointers to keep in mind.

• All parts of the dandelion – leaves, roots, flowers and seeds – are edible and safe to eat.

• Use dandelion leaves like spinach: raw, steamed, juiced, sautéed, in quiche… Dandelion leaves are bitter year-round. An old-timer tells me that spring leaves, before the flowers appear, are the sweetest. Many people think the greens are to bitter to eat at first ben as some cultures prefer to eat them at their most bitter! So, when beginning, try a small amount mixed with other greens. Letting the greens stand in water overnight can reduce the bitterness considerably. Many tasty recipes exist. Keep in mind that dandelion’s bitterness and healthfulness are inextricably related. Cascade Anderson Geller: “It is a nice reminder that what we eat should be our medicine.”

Dandelion Fried Rice

• Dandelion is a forage plant. You don’t need to dig the whole plant when harvesting the leaves. Harvest leaves considerately and the plant will keep growing back.

• Many of the plant’s most potent medicinal qualities are concentrated in the root. If a portion of the root breaks off and remains in the ground, great! The root piece will regenerate a new plant. Because you are taking the ‘whole plant’ when you harvest the root, be especially sensitive to your impact on plant populations.