Dandelion is native to the entire northern hemisphere, and the plant was naturalized in South America. Meanwhile, dandelion is distributed worldwide as a weed and is grown as a salad plant. The drug material comes mainly from wild occurrences and crops in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Poland, and the former Yugoslavia.
Dandelion in herbal medicine
In herbal medicine, the fresh or dried roots or leaves, or both together (Taraxaci radix cum herba), harvested before flowering, are used.
In Europe, the younger leaves are often eaten as a salad in spring. The roots, collected and dried in the fall, can also be used as a coffee substitute.
Dandelion: typical characteristics
Dandelion is a small, perennial rosette plant with a strong taproot that bears toothed, deeply lobed, basal leaves. The flower heads, consisting only of yellow ray florets, stand singly on hollow stems.
The plant grows preferentially in meadows and along roadsides and reproduces by spreading the brown fruits by the wind with the help of a kind of parachute. When injured, the bitter milky sap exudes from all parts of the plant.
Origin and meaning of the name
The English name of the plant “dandelion” is borrowed from the French “dent de lion”, in German dandelion. The name refers to the sharp teeth of the leaves.
Dandelion as a medicine
Component of the drug are usually dark brown to blackish root pieces, which in cross-section show their broad, whitish-gray bark with several lactiferous tubes. Furthermore, hairless or also hairy leaf fragments, red-purple parts of petioles, buds and single yellow tongue flowers occur in the drug.
Odor and taste
Dandelion emits a faint, peculiar odor. The taste of dandelion is somewhat bitter.
