Description
Dandelion is a small perennial arising from a single or branched taproot. Both the leaves and flowers originate from the plant’s root crown. The plant completely lacks branches or stems. The dark green leaves are between 2-12 inches long and are deeply lobed. The golden yellow flower heads arise on hollow flower stems, which can be several inches to 1-2 feet long. The puff-like seed clusters are wind or breath dispersed. Each achene is attached to a parachute-like grouping of silky hairs making dispersal easy. If damaged, the entire plant exudes a milky sap. Dandelion in low elevation, arid locales tends to be diminutive in size and weaker in strength compared to its high mountain and cold country relatives.
Distribution
Dandelion is found throughout most of the country. This European native is extremely robust and versatile, making the best of what it is given. Lawns, gardens, grassy parks, and roadsides are common places for the plant.
Chemistry
Sesquiterpene lactones: eudesmanolides, germacranolides, and guaianolides; phenylpropanoids; phenolic acids: caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid; flavonoids: apigenin, luteolin, and chrysoeriol; coumarins: scopoletin and aesculetin, cinnamic acid esters (monocaffeyltartaric acid, chlorogenic acid, and chicoric acid) and hydroxycinnamic acid; triterpenes; b-amyrin, taraxol, and taraxerol; carotenoids: lutein; phytosterols: sitosterol, stigmasterol, and taraxasterol; polysaccharide: inulin
Medicinal Uses
Dandelion’s use as a gastric and hepatic/biliary stimulant is straightforward. The tea or tincture taken before meals is a reliable bitter tonic. It increases digestive prowess by stimulating an array of gastric secretions. Use the plant if prone to indigestion and combine with Dogweed or Mountain marigold if there is a tendency for bloating. Dandelion is stimulating to bile production by the liver and release by the gallbladder, and likewise small intestinal fat digestion is augmented. The plant tends to be more cooling to the liver than other hepatic stimulants such as Desert barberry, so its use in liver inflammations, like hepatitis C, is better suited. In fact alone or combined with Milk thistle, Dandelion reduces liver sensitivity, upper body tightness, and itchy eyes and skin associated with subacute liver inflammation. Moreover, a cup of roasted or plain Dandelion root tea in the morning before breakfast is an effective way of thinning bile so gallstones tend not to develop. Small amounts of the tea over a longer period will diminish established gallstones from overly concentrated bile.
Dandelion, particularly the leaf, is diuretic. It is indicated in resolving uric acid kidney stones and acts systemically in eliminating uric acid deposits responsible for gout. Dandelion roots have substantial inulin content, a complex carbohydrate that enters the colon intact due to the body’s inability to digest it. In the colon, inulin promotes beneficial flora growth, particularly of bifidobacteria. This in turn stabilizes the large intestinal environment, limiting pathogenic bacteria and their destructive by-products. Use Dandelion in the nefarious “leaky gut syndrome” – a title meant to describe a symptom picture of skin allergies, joint inflammation, fatigue, and colon instability dependent upon proliferation of harmful colon bacteria, their by-products, and heightened leukocyte activity. For this purpose, combine Dandelion with Yucca. The combination tends to stabilize beneficial flora levels, while binding harmful endotoxins.
Collection
Gather Dandelion leaf when verdant and hydrated during the spring and summer. The roots of the plant can be dug all year, but are strongest during colder seasons, particularly in the fall when they can contain 40% inulin. Dry the leaves normally. Split the taproots length-wise before drying.
Preparations
The root powder in capsules is the best way to receive the plant’s inulin content.
Dosage
Leaf infusion/root decoction: 4-8 ounces 3 times daily
FPT/DPT (50% alcohol): 60-90 drops 3 times daily
Fluidextract (root): 20-40 drops 3 times daily
‘00’ capsules (root): 2-3, 3 times daily
Cautions
Do not use if there is a biliary blockage.
Other Uses
Although slightly bitter, the young leaves are used as a potherb. Add them to salads, other cooked greens, and the like.
Writing about Dandelion and its virtues Doctor Geo F. Collier stated in an 1843 issue of The Lancet: “The great objection to its use will be that it costs nothing, and may be made by everyone, without pharmaceutical mystery or expense.” (Some things just never change)