Dandelion
Origin: Eurasia and North America
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Cichorioideae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Subribe: Crepidinae
Scientific Name: Taraxum officinale
Folk Names: Blowball, cankerwort, clocks, doon-head-clock, faceclock, Irish daisy, lion’s tooth, milk witch, monks-head, pee-a-bed, piss-a-bed, pissenlit (French), priest’s crown, puffball, swine’s snout, wet-a-bed, white endive, wild endive, witch’s gowan, yellow-gowan
Magical
Element: Air
Day: Thursday
Planet: Jupiter
Zodiac: Sagittarius
Associated Celebrations: Floralia
Deities: Brighid, Green George, Hekate
Parts used: Root, leaf, flower, seed
Magical Properties: Psychic awareness, vitality, divination, wishes
Lore
- Nicholas Culpeper describes dandelion as belonging to Jupiter, with an opening and cleansing quality. He extolls the virtues of the herb, and views the French and Dutch making use of the leaves as food in spring as evidence that “foreign physicians are not so selfish as ours are, but more communicative of the virtues of plants to people.”
Magical Uses
- Drink dandelion tea to promote psychic awareness.
- Make a wish while blowing the seeds off the seed head into the wind.
Botanical
Type: Herbaceous plant
Plant size: 5-40cm
Stems: 1-10 straight stems with a milky latex when broken, ending in one flower
Leaves: 4-45cm long and 1-10cm wide, with deeply notched, hairless leaves
Flowers: Bright yellow flowers with many layers of petals
Fruit: 2-3mm slender seeds, with long silky attachments up to 6mm wide
Etymology: Taraxacum comes from the Arabic word tarakhshagog for a bitter herb.
In the Garden
Type: Perennial
Sow: Spring
Light: Shade
Water: Keep moist
Soil: Rich soil
While dandelions are a common weed, they have a number of uses and thus can be grown intentionally. While you can just use common dandelions (although be certain they aren’t a “false dandelion”, as many other plants look similar), there are a number of varieties that can be prettier, or be more effective for certain uses.
Dandelions are obviously incredibly easy to grow, but these are optimal conditions for harvesting leaves and roots.
References:
https://www.ediblewildfood.com/dandelion.aspx