I want to inspire you to live seasonally, become more self sufficient, and protect your health. With basal leaves that form a rosette on the ground, dandelions have yellow flowers that open during the day and that turn into white fluff when they produce seeds. This would be great to introduce to our preschool! Needs well-drained soil. Cat’s Ear do not have hollow stems and their stems are branching. They … The seed head is a familiar white puffball, you might remember making a wish and blowing on one of these puffballs as a child! My grandmother would always make dendilion soup in spring time with hard boiled eggs :), … my mother made really good dandelion wine. Leaves are sharply pointed, with complete or deeply-lobed margins. Type: Broadleaf perennial Size: 12 inches tall, 6 - 16 inches wide Where It Grows: Lawns and gardens in sun or shade Appearance: This common lawn weed has a strong taproot; leaves are deeply notched.Yellow flowers mature to puffballs. Originally published on June 10, 2020. The plant can also be used as a topical poultice for minor cuts, burns, or rashes, and can be made into a tea for use as a mild diuretic.. I understand from a botanist that there are two types of dandelion – true dandelion that has only 1 flower stalk and false dandelion that has multiple flower stalks. Once in a while, we might come across dandelion greens or purslane for sale in the produce section of the grocery store, or the farmers market, but for the most part, many common edible garden weeds aren't available anywhere else except for our lawns or garden beds. A plant of wate and disturbed ground. I share information on foraging and wildcrafting, fermenting and preserving, cooking whole foods from scratch, permaculture gardening, and making herbal products. Since I was a small child up to today (I am currently 35 years old), Dandelions have always been my favorite flower. Younger, smaller arugula is milder tasting and less bitter. They are so incredibly versatile, yet also plentiful. Required fields are marked *. They even have some of their own unique benefits. Among the first wild greens to appear in spring, the dandelion or cow parsnip is valued mainly for its spiky, enticingly bitter leaves, but also for its sunny yellow blossoms and even for its roots. It’s always nice to return the favor if you’ve been foraging on neighboring property — I like to show my thanks by gifting something I’ve made from the foraged material (such as this dandelion soap made with the whole plant!). They are rich in vitamins and minerals and have many health benefits making them a free superfood. Part of the resistance to eating plants that we believe to be weeds, in my opinion, is that we are conditioned to only consider the items we find in the grocery store as food, and not things that the rest of the neighborhood sees as unwelcome invaders in lawns and gardens. The spiky, deeply lobed leaves are robust, bitter, and full of nutrients. Their long jagged leaves form a rosette lying close to the ground. Stick to unsprayed dandelion plants on your own property or ask a friend or neighbor whether they’d be willing to let you forage their unsprayed dandelions. While many people will say that you need to save the dandelions for the bees, especially in early spring, that’s actually a bit of a myth. It is often roasted and used as a caffeine free coffee substitute. Mallow, or malva, is also known as cheeseweed, due to the shape of its seed pods, and can be found in many lawns or garden beds across the US. Dandelion. Your email address will not be published. This is another reason dandelions are such a beginner-friendly plant to forage! Harvest the spiky greens and their pale belowground crowns (which taste like artichoke hearts) as soon as you detect the tiny spiked leaves poking forth. Plants can propagate by seed, but they also spread via stolons or rhizomes. The leaves can also be ground up to make a snappy dandelion pesto — the recipe calls for lemon juice to help neutralize some of the bitterness from the greens. Can I use them the same way as the yellow ones? Even then a rogue flower sometimes appears in a damp meadow or a shady corner of the yard. In between firm and tender, these gorgeous spiky dandelion bunches from California will mostly end up being cooked, but the smaller leaves can also be slivered raw for salads. Unless you know for sure, steer clear of plants that grow outside your yard, in places where they may be sprayed or treated, or in places that neighborhood dogs and cats use to do their business. If you want to learn more about the edible and medicinal weeds that surround us and how to use them, check out my eBook: Wildcrafting Weeds: 20 Easy to Forage Edible and Medicinal Plants (that might be growing in your backyard)! The bold flavor of dandelion greens are delicious when they’re paired with eggs, like in this recipe for sautéed dandelion greens with eggs. The root of the dandelion can be dried and roasted and used as a coffee substitute, or added to any recipe that calls for root vegetables. Also do not eat plants that have been treated with garden chemicals. Last updated on June 15, 2020. It usually thrives in dry, compacted soils. Learn more. Chickweed is edible. Carolina False Dandelion Pyrrhopappus carolinianus (Carolina False Dandelion) is a winter annual or biennial with pale-green erect, branched fl owering stems with bright yellow fl owers at the ends. The root is usually dried, ground and consumed as … Grows in zones 4-11. True dandelions have leafless hollow usually beige-colored stems, and produce only one blossom per flowering stem. Green Leaf or Red Leaf Lettuce. The roots of sow thistle are finer than those of dandelion, which means that they are easier to peel. I do this to relieve swelling in my legs. Want even more dandelion recipes? Knotweed forms a tough, wiry mat of stems and blue-green leaves with small white flowers. Edible Green Leaves Dandelion, red clover, plantain, watercress and chickweed are edible green leaves. Rodale's 21st-Century Herbal. With warmer weather the leaves expanded rapidly and now some plants are about knee high, producing yellow, dandelion-like flowers and white, puffball heads of parachuted, achene-type fruits. Enjoy sauteed, or raw in salads - mixed with other sweeter varieties to tame the bitterness . Sow Thistle (Sonchus spp.) I would like to know the nutritional value of each type. Curly dock (also called yellow dock) leaves can be eaten raw when young, or cooked when older, and added to salads or soups. When young, the leaves, stems, and flowers can all be eaten either raw or cooked. Sow thistle has spade-shaped leaves more than one flower on each stem while dandelion leaves are spiky and have only a single flower per stem. The stems of the dock plant can be peeled and eaten either cooked or raw, and the mature seeds can be boiled, or eaten raw, or roasted to make a coffee substitute. Notes: A tall perennial with heart-shaped, toothed leaves. 11. They are sold in some supermarkets, but you … Jun 7, 2018 - This past weekend, there were some long spiky greens in the produce shares...Dandelion Greens! It might be a near or distant relative in the same family. Be careful to sit them away from paths or other places people could be scratched by their sharp leaves. Be sure to limit the drying time to a day or two at most to prevent the blooms from becoming puffballs. The dandelion is a plant that gives and gives, from the moment its green spiky leaves first appear in early spring, right up until fall when the seed head has blown and the leaves have become tough and leathery. They provide an important source of food for bees early in the year, too. Lower part of flower forms a slender tube. https://www.growforagecookferment.com/foraging-for-dandelions Rodale Books. ], Uddin, Md. Contrary to popular belief, this is a beneficial plant to have. I never see any single flower stalk bushes in my yard! Because dandelions have such a pervasive presence, it’s incredibly important to be mindful of the potential for herbicide and pesticide usage. They’re also a gorgeous addition to sweet and savory baked goods. It has broad leaves with prominent veins and may smother lawn grass if left untreated, which generally calls for maintaining thick lawn coverage. You should harvest the spiky greens and their pale belowground crowns (which taste like artichoke hearts) as soon as you see the small leaves poking out. Dandelion flowers grow on single, unbranching, hollow stems and the leaves are lobed and produce a milky sap. Derek Markham is a green living expert who started writing for Treehugger in 2012. They also have hairy leaves with deep notches. Can anyone help please? The leaves and the seed pods (also called the 'fruit') are both edible, either raw or cooked, and like many greens, are often more tender and palatable when smaller and less mature. Instead of a generic looking and tasting salad, you can make something interesting to eat and look at. And that's a shame. I just boil the flowers in a pot of water. Give these recipes featuring dandelion a try the next time you’ve been out foraging: Dandelion has a wide variety of medicinal uses; traditionally the entire plant has been used to aid digestion, help treat UTIs, improve kidney and liver function, and stimulate the appetite. While dandelion is commonly classified as a weed (and often treated as such), it’s actually a perennial herb with a long list of culinary and medicinal uses. Clover is an important food for honeybees and bumblebees, and clover leaves and flowers can be used to add variety to human meals as well. Unlike dandelion greens, dandelion flowers have a delicate and sweet flavor. Dandelion. Although the edible weeds that you can find in your yard might be different ones than the ones I find in my yard, due to weather, soil conditions, and geography, here are some of the most common garden weeds that can be used for both meals and medicine: The quintessential garden and lawn weed, dandelions have a bad reputation among those who want grass that looks as uniform as a golf course, but every part of this common edible weed is tasty both raw and cooked, from the roots to the blossoms. This common lawn weed (not to be confused with the tropical fruit also called plantain) is not only a great medicinal plant that can be used topically to soothe burns, stings, rashes, and wounds, but is also a great edible green for the table. Remember to steer clear of eating plants foraged from near roads; they may be tainted with pollutants. From front lawns to parking lots, one of the most appealing aspects of foraging for dandelions is that the plant can be found everywhere and anywhere. could I make wine using the same recipe but with sow thistle flowers? While dandelions prefer the coolness of the shade, they will still thrive in hotter locations with direct sunlight. Please see my Privacy Policy. They can also be cooked up just like any other dark leafy green. If raw dandelion leaves don't appeal to you, they can also be steamed or added to a stir-fry or soup, which can make them taste less bitter. My father and myself would harvest them annually and cook them up like rapini. Instead of trying to get rid of those lawn and garden weeds, harvest them for free homegrown meals. Here are two commonly found dandelion look-alikes: Cat’s Ear (Hypochaeris radicata) is the most likely to be mistaken for dandelion, as the flower heads look very similar. 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