Dandelion Lore with ElixirWitch

Vibrant, fertile, scrappy, steadfast, playful, persistent, prolific, resilient, powerful, beloved of kitchen witches & hero to herbalists. Bearing witness to a dandelion is enough to inspire joy & conjure hope. 

Dandelion is a plant of the people.

Taraxacum officinale, in the plant family Asteraceae, is there for you….right here, right there & pretty much everywhere. Naturalized through the entire so called US, poking fun at perfectionism in lawns & adorning sidewalks with sunny smiles they ask to be enjoyed & speak the language of plenty, that there is enough.

Every part of a dandelion is cheerfully of service...both as food & medicine.

The Latin name Taraxacum derives from Greek simply meaning  “disease remedy” which speaks to their hearty medicinal utility & long standing ability to support wellness. They are among the first flowers to feed hungry pollinators & wildlife after a long winter... which beckons biodiversity into homogenized habitats.

The serrated tooth-like leaves from whIch Dandelion gets its name (dent de lion = tooth of the lion in french,) extend out from the root in a rosette & resourcefully channel water to where it is most needed.  They are abundant in nutrients.  A wonderful source of: vitamin A, potassium, iron, vitamin C, phosphorus, calcium, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin D, and fiber. Oh & did I mention the micronutrients copper, cobalt, zinc, boron, and molybdenum? Yep. Dandelion is lavish.

The leaves are great in salads, pesto, soups, sauces, sandwiches, stir fries, dried into crispy snacks (think kale chips,) infused in vinegar (which is the best way to capture their mineral goodness) & are well complemented by lemon juice which renders their medicine easier to assimilate.

The stems contain a latex that can be used like rubber & the flowers make a delightful wine when fermented, a mean (antioxidant) honey that can be used topically (or on toast) & an infused in oil for circular massage around the heart / solar plexus to invite fortitude, opening, centeredness & a supported sense of self. Try this amazing lacto-fermented dandelion stem recipe.

Learn a simple recipe for dandelion honey to taste the brightness of the early spring dandelion and violet flowers!

ElixirWitch is a kitchen herbalist and medicine creator out of Denver Colorado and cultivates spiritually charged remedies and seasonal recipes. follow her and learn more about the practice and art of the kitchen pharmacy