Gardeners often swear at them, green lawn lovers typically nuke them with poisonous sprays, and botanists officially classify Taraxacum officinale as a non-native plant. However after years of scorning the common dandelion, I’ve come to recognize this herb as an important wildlife food, a boon for early spring pollinators, and a superb health food.
Come early spring, turkeys, quail, rabbits, and many songbirds relish the leaves and/or seeds. Bees, butterflies, moths, and other pollinators depend on the yellow blooms as one of the few sources of nectar and pollen at this time. And nothing quite says that spring is almost here like the first dandelion salad of the year.
The leaves, flowers, and roots are edible, but I only gather the leaves and buttery yellow flowers. Elaine and I raise chickens so we don’t consume dandelions from our yard since this plant has an amazing ability to absorb both good things (minerals) and bad things (chicken poop) from soil. That’s why folks shouldn’t gather dandelions from fertilized lawns and roadsides. We pick ours from our fenced garden and along the edges of our woodlot. Old fields are another possibility.
We primarily eat dandelions in salads, as toppings for burgers, and in various egg dishes. If you do so as well, you’ll find this super food an excellent source of Vitamins A, C, and K and a good source of iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. So stop cursing at this so called weed and start consuming it.
