Dandy Dandelions

Dandelions are so nostalgic. I have childhood memories of closing my eyes and whispering a wish before blowing a cloud of dandelion seeds spinning into the air. If I cleared the puffball in one breath, it was a sign my wish would be granted.

During school recess, the flowers would be woven into crowns or gathered into a tiny posy.

People consider them weeds, but why? Europeans brought dandelions intentionally to Australia in the early 1800s, not as a useless weed, but as a source of food and medicine.

They've been used medicinally for centuries across continents. They're great for your liver, inflammation, and a plethora of other ailments. Ancient sources document their uses: Pliny the Elder, Theophrastus, Avicenna, even the Tang Dynasty pharmacopoeia. There are too many examples of modern research to even begin to list.

They have also become a helpful part of our ecosystem. At dusk, as the flowers close, they cradle native Australian Lasioglossum bees within their petals. These adorable bees actually sleep in flowers! The dandelion serves as a cozy, floral blanket for the males and any solitary females, while the rest of the colony sleeps in their nests. During the day, Lasioglossums may return for a sun-basked lunchtime siesta.

Painted Lady butterflies flutter past for a drink of their floral nectar. Later in the season, Silvereyes pluck the soft dandelion fluff, carrying it off to pad their nests with silken threads.

Good for the ecosystem, and good for us. They are the OGs of forageable goodies; paving many foragers' paths into picking wild greens. Easy to ID, and if you mistakenly mix up your ID for something else, it's probably still edible (newbie foragers could confuse other edibles like sow thistle, salsify or cat's ear). You'd have to be completely clueless to confuse it for something toxic.

Here's a checklist to make sure you're on the right track:

Leaves:

Texture: Hairless and smooth

Shape: Jagged, sometimes like pointed arrows

Growth pattern: Flat circle (a rosette) at ground level. Leaves are attached to the root, not the stem

Stem: Hollow, leafless, and produces a milky sap when broken

Flower: Only one flower per stem (yellow bloom turns into a seedy puffball). It will never have multiple flowers on a single stem.

Convenient to find, they're everywhere, even blooming in the pavement cracks, almost as the earth's lesson in the value of resilience and strength.

A little snack or a proper meal, the whole plant can be eaten.

Leaves: Use as a salad green or a substitute for spinach or Asian greens

Flower Petals: Perfect for teas, syrups, vegan honey, or decorating desserts.

Root: Can be roasted like a root vegetable, or dehydrated and ground for a coffee substitute.

Unopened Buds: Preserve these and use them as a caper substitute.

Seeds: Add to drinks, mix through baked goods, or sprout into microgreens.

Stems & Sap: Weave the stems into little baskets, or use the sap to create henna-like tattoos on sun-exposed skin.

The leaves can be quite bitter for the uninitiated. If you find them unpalatable, try picking the very young leaves – they can be eaten on a sandwich with some butter and salt, or added to cooking. You'll find your palate will eventually develop an appreciation for bitter greens once you start regularly eating them.

Given their abundance, avoid picking them in areas affected by car exhaust, or in what I call 'dog piss zones'. Everything you’ve ever eaten has been peed on by a bug or a bee, so don’t stress too much. Just maybe avoid high-traffic footpaths. I particularly like picking around the Darebin and Merri Creeks. If they're growing in a garden patch, even better; the soil is softer so you can dig out the whole root.

After Melbourne's autumn drought, the rains have hit hard, so enjoy these wild greens while we have a spring abundance!