The humble dandelion.

Dandelions are flowering herbs usually belonging to the genus Taraxacum. They are native to Eurasia and North America and are named for the shape of their leaves, which somewhat resemble lions’ teeth. They have yellow flowers, and are famous for their hairy flying seeds.

Commonly regarded as a weed to be removed from one’s garden or vegetable patch, the dandelion is in fact very useful. The leaves, roots, and flowers are edible, and the plant has been a part of many traditional recipies across its native range. In the Carpathian basin for example, the leaves were eaten fresh in spring and the flowers were eaten raw or used to make a kind of flower wine (Dénes, et al, 2012, p. 383). In Britain, dandelions are a part of the traditional drink ‘Dandelion and Burdock’, which has been drunk in one form or another for several hundred years, and the roots too can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute, which apparently tastes quite nice (Moodie, 1854, p. 90).

The first record of the plant being used as a medicine comes from the middle east around 1000 years ago, although it has been used as a medicine by other societies since then, including European, Chinese, and North American aboriginal traditional medicine (Clare, Conroy & Spelman, 2009; Schütz, Carl & Schieber, 2006). A study from 2009 found that after taking a dandelion-derived solution, there was a statistically significant increase in the frequency of urination in the participants (Clare, Conroy & Spelman, 2009), which helps to explain the French name for the plant (pissenlit). It has also been prescribed to treat liver and spleen ailments, hepatitis, anorexia, kidney disease, diabetes, and as a treatment for cancer, as well as used as an anti inflammatory (Sweeny, et al, 2005); the usefulness of the plant to treat these ailments has been described as unclear or conflicting, however (ibid, p. 81).

On top of its use as a food and medicine, the Soviets also had a special use for it.

During the WWII, owing to a shortage in the supply of rubber, the Soviet Union was tasked with creating its own supply. To this end, scientists conducted trials of over 1100 plants to test natural latex production, and they found that the Russian dandelion (Taraxacum koksaghyz) was most suitable for cultivation. After some selective breeding, the Soviets were able to get as much as 200 kg of natural rubber per hectare of dandelion (van Beilen & Poirier, 2007, p. 227) and at one point, domestically produced dandelion-derived rubber accounted for 30% of the USSR’s rubber consumption, though the project was eventually cancelled when Hevea brasiliensis-derived rubber became affordable again (ibid).

Interest in alternative sources of rubber has since renewed, and cultivation of T.koksaghyz has begun again in Germany for tyre production, with initial results being promising (McGovan, 2021).

You know me- I’m a tree man, myself. However, I was reading up about this the other day, and decided that you should all know about it.

The tree posting will resume in my next mega!

References

van Beilen, J.B & Poirier, Y. (2007) ‘Guayule and Russian Dandelion as Alternative Sources of Natural Rubber.’ Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, 27(4), 217-231.

Clare, B.A; Conroy, R.S. & Spelman, K. (2009) ‘The Diuretic Effect in Human Subjects of an Extract of Taraxacum Offinale Folium Over a Single Day.’ Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(8), 929-934.

Dénes, A; Papp, N; Babai, D; Czúcz, B. & Mólnár, Z. (2012) ‘Wild plants used for food by Hungarian ethnic groups living in the Carpathian Basin.’ Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae, 81(4), 381-396.

McGovan, J. (2021) ‘Could Rubber from Dandelions make Tires More Sustainable?’ DW, March 10th. https://tinyurl.com/2sdspsm7

Moodie, S. (1854) Roughing it in the Bush; Or, Life in Canada. New York: George P Putnam.

Schutz, K; Carle, R & Schieber, A. (2006) ‘Taraxacum – a Review on its phytochemical and pharmacological profile.’ Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 117(3), 313-323.

Sweeney, B; Vora, M; Ulbricht, C. & Basch, E. (2005). ‘Evidence-Based Systematic Review of Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) by Natural Standard Research Collaboration.’ Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy, 5(1), 79–93.

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  • hauntologist [comrade/them,he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    The megathread writers missed an opportunity by not doing one based on the lunar eclipse. Glad to see it's brought up in the comments though! Fun fact: People tend to think that solar eclipses (where the moon blocks out the sun, leading to a striking, beautiful, and even eerie darkening of the world with a glowing ring in the sky in place of the sun) are exceedinly rare, whereas lunar eclipses--when the moon passes into the shadow of the earth, making it appear dark, "blood" red--are common. They actually happen at roughly the same rate. But many many more people have seen the latter, a lunar eclipse, and relatively few have seen a solar eclipse. The reason is that to see a lunar eclipse, you only need be on the night-time side of earth as it is happening, and it's there in your sky. But to see a solar eclipse, you have to be in the narrow shadow cast by the moon as it sweeps across a specific path along the earth. You have to be in that narrow band of shadow where the moon is blocking the sun to see it. So again, even though they both might not be all that uncommon, you still have to be much more lucky, or make deliberate travel plans, to see a solar eclipse. And fwiw, solar eclipses are generally agreed to be a lot more striking, profound, and inspiring. All eclipses are beautiful, but solar eclipses upend our expectations of how the world "should" look. I would encourage everyone to see a solar eclipse at some point in their lives, if they can. And this doesn't even begin to touch on the lore from cultures throughout history and their storytelling around these events.

    Edit: Absolutely no offense to @Pseudoplatanus22 who wrote an excellent, fascinating megathread topic, I just felt like it was a little bit of a missed opportunity given the lunar eclipse that roughly half or at least a third of the earth was able to see tonight. But I'm an admitted astronerd, so...