urban warriors underfoot

dandelion -- taraxacum officinale F. asteraceae

not only do dandelions give us faeries to make a wish on with their magnificent seed pods & a light breath of fresh air [usually your own] as they float into the blue ether but they're an incredible resilient herb rich in vitamins A to C with some E thrown in for extra measure, not to mention plentiful calcium & iron [toss the leaves into a salad or dice them into an omelette as you would spinach]. 


fat metabolising dandelions also relieve bloating, aid in the expelation of urine, detox liver, treat skin conditions including eczema, relieve breast tenderness in women and are brilliant for a myriad of complaints. cup of tea or room anyone?  


just gather the leaves... use fresh or dried. or the root is also used. preferably harvested away from major streets where they've been exposed to lead. use the juice to help heal wounds and fight nasty bacteria. it is rumoured to also eradicate warts. like all naturalised plants they also tell us a lot about the earth they set seed in. being a daisy they do love the sun but also cope well in the shade.


this one is on my street. as we hurriedly walked into erskineville for saturday morning breakfast for stevie's birthday the morning after the great cornercabana cocktail party clean-up, i couldn't help but stop and wonder at it's beauty under mass protest.


please think twice about pulling one up next time you see it. weeds are merely plants which grow where some humans have determined they shouldn't. they're brave little urban warriors nestling in hostile concrete gaps to enrich our lives with some oxygenising green. in fact dandelions actually exude another type of gas as well as converting carbon dioxide into useable air. they emit ethylene which can aid the early ripening of surrounding crops.


but the best part is the flowers can be made into wine. which brings us back to faeries... 


*skips off into morning sunshine to breakfast*