Spring is really here – the dandelions are in bloom. This ubiquitous yellow flower seems to spring up overnight to create a cheerful floral display followed by billowy seed heads floating on long stalks above the ground. The word "dandelion" means "lion's tooth," probably a reference to its jagged leaves. Even though it's originally from Europe, I rather like this tongue-in-cheek description of it's origin: "The dandelion has no origin; rather, its seeds came into existence at the Big Bang and dispersed through all the dimensions of spacetime, like background radiation and logic."
Taxaracum officinale, a common plant of grassland and cultivated ground, is found in all parts of the Northern Hemisphere thru USDA Zone 3. Depending on your perspective, dandelion is either a weed or wild vegetable that is more nutritious than broccoli and spinach. Though never cultivated as vegetables in Europe, they were brought to market in England in the 19th century when lettuce and endive were scarce. And dandelions appear on the menu in some locations. In Catalonia pheasant or duck is often prepared with dandelions in the fall (el faisŕ o l'ŕnec amb queixals de vella) and in Macedonia Radíkia Me Rízi Tis Kyrías Agápis is a dish of dandelion and chicory cooked with rice and pine nuts.
Dandelion is a short-lived perennial and a good colonizer that is excellent at dispersing its prolific seeds. Each plant can produce up to 20,000 viable seeds. The seeds have a pappus, the feathery parachute of soft, white hairs that makes it easily carried by the wind. Even though its flowers are more conspicuous early in the season, it will bloom almost throughout the year.
The flowers are utilized by bees and other pollinators (insects can see UV light which we can't), and the rosette of leaves can be a food plant for the caterpillars of some butterfly and moth species.
Dandelion recipes:
http://www.hort.wisc.edu/mastergarde.../dandelion.htm
SOURCE: University of Wisconsin - Extension
http://www.uwex.edu/
