How did the dandelion get its name?
The English name dandelion is a corruption of the French dent de lion meaning lion's tooth, referring to the coarsely-toothed leaves. The names of the plant have the same meaning in several other European languages, such as Italian dente di leone, Spanish diente de león, Portuguese dente-de-leão, Norwegian Løvetann, and German Löwenzahn.
In modern French the plant is named pissenlit, which means "urinate in bed", apparently referring to its diuretic properties. Likewise, pissabeds is an English folkname for this plant, piscialletto in Italian and in Spanish it is known as the meacamas.
Some fun facts about dandelions...
❀ A dandelion is the only flower representing three celestial bodies during different phases of its life cycle – sun, moon, stars. The yellow flower of the plant resembles the sun, the dispersing seeds of the plant resemble stars, and the puff ball of dandelion plant resembles the moon.
❀ The dandelion flower has a yellow-orange hue and comprises many individual, miniature flowers called ray florets. The dandelion flower opens at the time of sunrise and closes at night.
❀ In folk medicine, dandelions are used for treating liver disorders and infections. Tea made from dandelion serves as a diuretic i.e., facilitates urine excretion.
❀ Dandelions are also called pioneer plants or ruderals – the first plants to colonize any disturbed lands (like land after a wildfire).
❀ According to an old wives tale, if you rub a dandelion under your chin and your skin turns yellow, you like butter.
My father was a midwestern beekeeper. Dandelions were the first significan bloom of spring in Michigan, the start of a new season for the bees, those glorious little yellow flowers.
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