Wildcrafted Medicine: The Incredible Healing Properties of Dandelion
Health is wealth, and we're sitting on a gold mine!
The Garden of Eden is covered in powerful healing herbs, and we want to share the abundance with the Steemit community! We believe that every aspect of life is way better when you're healthy, so we encourage you to rethink your “weeds”.
Nature wildcrafts primo medicines. What are often treated as scourges to the garden an lawn are actually respectable plants with powerful healing properties!
We present the humble dandelion for your consideration.
With some 250+ varieties, dandelions are common and easily recognized. The serrated green leaves are basal, "meaning they don't grow up on stems, but emerge from the crown of the plant at ground level". [1] The flowers extend on a hollow stalk that oozes when pierced or cut.
After a few days in bloom, the flower heads close up, and each floret transforms to seed. The seed-head stage of the dandelion's life has delighted children for ages, because with a breath of wind the feathery parachute-tipped seeds take flight.
Dandelions are dishonored by many gardeners, treated as common weeds and even sprayed with toxic chemicals for attempted eradication. This perception is an absolute travesty, because dandelion is a powerful all-around remedy.
Dandelion Healing Powers:
- diuretic
- anticancer
- supports digestive system
- stimulates channels of elimination
- promotes detoxification
- antioxidants
- great source of vitamins and minerals
- protects cardiovascular system
- calms irritation
- encourages liver health
- purifies the blood
Dandelion can be consumed raw, taken as tea, or even turned into wine!
We have a great formula for Dandelion Pesto:
Blend a couple handfuls of dandelion greens, a good bunch of basil, a small handful of sunflower seeds, 0.5-1 cup of olive oil, up to a head of garlic, a small handful of parmesan cheese in a Vitamix or food processor and enjoy! Exact amounts aren't that important; experiment to find the relative volume of each ingredient you prefer.
References
1. http://www.naturenorth.com/summer/dandelion/Dandelion2.html
2. http://www.uwindsor.ca/dandelionrootproject/
3. http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/what-are-benefits-of-organic-dandelion-leaf/
www.intothegardenofeden.com
Dandelion Tea is one of my absolute favorites and so good for you! My bearded dragon loves eating the leaves, too. If you want to buy the dried herb in bulk, you can find it here in variety of sizes: http://plumdragonherbs.com/product/pu-gong-ying-dandelion-chinese-herb/
Tea is a great way to utilize this wonderful plant! We prefer to utilize the specimens we don't want in say our raised beds rather than purchasing them; it's super sustainable to consume the unwanted "weeds" AND it is highly beneficial to the human body!
I agree and use the fresh leaves all the time and fully appreciate the sustainability aspect of harvesting your own "weeds." Sometimes, though, there are needs for a large amount of dried material that have been tested for impurities ...like in homemade products people want to sell, and there are also those without access to unsprayed lawns who wish to use it medicinally, Thanks for the great article!
Pesticides are a unfortunately a very real threat to human health. We prefer to harvest from sources we can trust. Thanks for your input, @llball!
Great informational post. I haven't eaten the yet, but I have recipes! That they are the first food for the bees is the most important purpose of all. Love my dandies!
You can enjoy the leaves straight off an organic dandelion plant if you want to give it a quick go, @somegirlupnorth, but we find them to be a little bitter. Glad to hear you consider our bee friends as well!
This is a great post. Thank you so much for this information. I want to research more on the varietys and replant my lawn. My neighbors are going to hate me but what a conversation piece to get to know them all.. HIGH QUALITY all the way!
It's incredible how many people look down upon the dandelion with scorn, when the reality is this sweet little "weed" is hugely beneficial for human health! Hopefully your neighbors will grow to appreciate your natural "pharmacy" lawn, @pitterpatter!
What I love about thse sweer weeds is they're the perfect "Dooms Day Prepper Garden," that doesn't need a green thumb to keep them alive. They grow in the worst conditions and you can feed a whole neighborhood in the span of a short time. Power food and medicine rolled into one.
Sustainability for the win!!!
nice timelaps
Very true! I love to eat the leafs in my salad and i enjoy dandelion tea too! This year i'm going to make a tincture with the flower.
Nice, @nature.sauvage. The leaves are a little bitter so we mix them in with other salad greens; those healthful benefits are too good to pass up! Please share how the dandelion flower tincture turns out. We have some nice comfrey tinctures going right now.
I ate it for the first time ever about a month ago. Thanks for the great info!
You're welcome, @kus-knee! How did you like it??
Yummy!
Thanks for the share. This is a very useful ideas because nowadays its hard to depend on pharmaceuticals where chemicals are added to the drug which could have negative results to our body. Herbak remedy is what better, besides pharma medicines came from herbs.
You're welcome, @juvyjabian! There are so many powerful plants on Earth, and we're inspired to share their amazing capabilities to spread the awareness that there are indeed options for activating health and wellness!
Looking forward to it since we prefer utilizing these herbs.
Great info! Whenever we had dandelions in the garden they went straight into the blender... Unfortunately, they don't seem to do very well in the tropics. Never seen them in the garden since we moved here. But then there are so many other wonderful, wild, medicinal edibles here.
Incredible how nature provides solutions for the humanimal in every environment, isn't it @amy-goodrich?! Where in the tropics are you?
True that! We live in Cambodia, SE-Asia! Garden and forest are packed with so much plant goodness! The other day I discovered wild chilies and more papaya growing in the garden. Feeling so blessed!
Amazing!!! Can imagine that the wildcrafted reality is pretty epic in your parts...
I grind up the dried root and sprinkle it on my food
Nice move, @ivanc! Do you dry the roots yourself?
Yep. I let it dry and then toss a bunch of roots in the ninja, grind it up as fine as I can, and add it to stir fries, sandwiches, etc.
Primo!
Great post, more people need to know how amazing dandelion is! They are in full swing here up in the Mountains of BC finally and I am scouting out a great place to harvest some flowers for some wine!
Thank you, @egregorian! We're here to reconnect the humanimal to its roots in nature - dandelion is but one incredible plant that grows prolifically and is a real boon to health! Dandelion wine is a fantastic way to take advantage of dandelion's super powers; sending you many blessings on what we picture to be a beautiful hike and its sweet purpose!
You should do an article about the ever present in all our backyards about Plantain, and it's healing properties. Great article, my yard is full of Dandelions right now.
Thanks for the suggestion, @gardengirlcanada! We have some wild plantain as well.