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Guide to British Plants: D

Dandelion *

DandelionA very useful and very easily recognised plant. The leaves make a tasty if bitter salad often best first briefly boiled with the first batch of water thrown away although can be eaten raw. The leaves can also be used to make an infusion of dandelion tea and the root can be roasted and ground to make a coffee, which can be seen for sale in some European countries. In the UK a popular fizzy soft drink Dandelion and Burdock is still on sale today. Common folklore indicates that those who pick the yellow flowers will wet the bed. There is more than an element of truth in this as the sticky white sap is a diuretic, which is easily absorbed through the skin. The seeds of the plant also form a common game among children using the seed head as a clock.

Dwarf Elder