Those dandelions are worthy to harvest for their roots, their leaves, their flowers and even their stems. They’re the buffalo of the plant world: every part serves as a benefit to our health and well-being. Even the earth’s soil benefits from them. Not only that, Ms. Dandelion is one of our best teachers. Most “first world” people consider her to be a weed. Why is that? What are our considerations when we assign value to the many aspects of creation in our midst? Did we have enough information about Ms. Dandelion, for example, before we decided that she is a worthless weed? We might ask, “What is a weed?” To answer my own question I had to look it up. It said, “A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, ‘a plant in the wrong place.’” I feel bad for her. Imagine being called “…. undesirable“… a plant in the wrong place.” I wonder how many of us know and appreciate what an incredibly valuable plant she is, her with her many important medicinal and beneficial qualities made more so especially because she appears in such effortless abundance when her specific qualities are exactly what we need for the healthy Spring cleaning of our bodies, minds and spirits. How intelligent she is. Do we know that Ms. Dandelion is the only plant in creation that represents the 3 celestial bodies of the sun, moon and stars? Her yellow flower resembles the sun, her post-bloom puff ball resembles the moon and her dispersing seeds resemble the stars. Have we noticed that Ms. Dandelion’s flower opens to greet the morning and closes in the evening to go to sleep? Every part of dandelion is useful: roots, leaves, flowers and stems. It can be used for food, medicine and dye for coloring. Up until the 1800s people would pull grass out of their lawns to make room for dandelions and other useful “weeds” like chickweed, malva, and chamomile. The name dandelion is taken from the French word “dent de lion” meaning lion’s tooth, referring to the coarsely-toothed leaves. Dandelions have one of the longest flowering seasons of any plant. Dandelion seeds are often transported away by a gust of wind and they travel like tiny parachutes. Seeds are often carried as many as 5 miles from their origin! Animals such as birds, insects and butterflies consume nectar or seed of dandelion. Dandelion flowers do not need to be pollinated to form seed. Dandelion can be used in the production of wine and root beer. Root of dandelion can be used as a substitute for coffee. Dandelions have sunk their roots deep into history. They were well known to ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, and have been used in Chinese traditional medicine for over a thousand years. Dandelion is used in folk medicine to treat infections and liver disorders. Tea made of dandelion act as diuretic. If dandelions are mowed down, they simply grow shorter stalks. Dandelions are, quite possibly, the most successful plants that exist, masters of survival worldwide. A not so fun fact: Every year countries spend millions on lawn pesticides to have uniform lawns of non-native grasses, and we use 30% of the country’s water supply to keep them green.