TARAXACUM OFFICINALIS
DANDELION
From the Agricultural Course:
‘ A clear and visible interaction between silicic acid and potassium not calcium’ In
‘The innocent little Dandelion’ Will
‘ Mediates between the silicic acid finely homeopathically distributed around the cosmos and that which is needed as silicic acid’ The
‘Messenger from Heaven’ Is
‘exposed to the influences of the earth, over winter’ One should,
‘Gather the little heads… let them fade a little… sew up in a bovine mesentery’ In
‘ Spring time you take the balls out… thoroughly saturated with cosmic influence’ This
‘Will give the soil the facility to attract just as much silicic acid from the atmosphere and from the cosmos as the plant needs, to make them really sentient to all that is at work in their environment.. For they themselves will then attract what they need’
‘THE PROCESS NOT THE SUBSTANCE IS IMPORTANT’
Welcome to a little exploration into the world of the Dandelion.
This delicious nutritious little plant soaks up the cosmic forces over winter while it lays amongst the soil. Surfacing in spring we can take a nibble of its fresh leaves. Its sun embodied flowers cascade over the meadows and we awe at their brilliance.
As if on reaching a saturation point of light they transform into globes of light.
The waves of wind carry the seeds through air to ground.
The Dandelion is not a demanding plant who’s latex root is dried and used as a coffee substitute.
The buds open facing the east when the dew has dried and the sun is beaming light and warmth.
They close in the afternoon facing Southwest.
The spherical miracle which occurs when the flower has past its expression is the globe of the dandelion. Fine siliceous cellular tissue is used to build agile parachutes which transport the seeds.
The seeds have tiny hooks on them which give them a farther range if they manage to catch onto a creature in transit
There is a long development for the plant before we recognize the flowers as earthly images of the sun. A germinating Dandelion needs a full summer to orientate itself with its surroundings before flowering. It will form buds in the winter close to the ground in the dense rosette of leaves. This is pulled into the ground and root over winter.
Like a coiled spring its physical form is ready to burst out when the light and warmth of spring returns.
The ever spreading leaves (5-25cm long) are very telling of the journey the plant takes in its development to flowering. In sequence we can see how the leaves grow in size then reduce to almost nothing over winter then return in full glory and size with their bundles of light entrapped in buds.
The tooth looking leaves tend to point inwards which gives me the feeling they are not an expression of defense. Rather that of silica.
The buds are formed at the end of hollow sappy stems( 4-30cm) who seem to have an ability to grown to great heights if surrounded by anything which may obstruct their potential light advantage.
Each flower head has between one hundred and two hundred florets (individual flowers) which open themselves, working from the OUTSIDE in.
One can observe mid flowering a spiral effect as the flower opens to greet the sun. The Florets that is were seen to open in a spiral in some flowers.
If it is a dreary, rainy day with not much light the flowers stay shut. This clearly shows a sensitivity to light.
Butterflies, beetles, flies and bees will see whole areas come into color as I am sure the instinct for rich sun filled pollen propels them towards their nearest flower where the individual florets are easy picking.
When finally the inner most florets have shown themselves and shared their gifts they wither and are pushed out of the closed receptacle like bud through the top.
Now for several days the fruit ripens inside. Then it begins to open, pushing the base up the doors( bracts) bend towards the floor revealing through time a spear of multi fruit who shape shows an orientation to its complete surroundings.
It relates to the wind like a flower does to light.
The favorable fruit germinate in one too two weeks in suitably light situations.
There are usually 54 to 172 seeds produced per head, but a single plant can produce more than 2000 seeds a year. It has been estimated that more than 97 000 000 seeds/hectare could be produced every year by a dense stand of dandelions.
A fruit can form where no cross fertilization has taken place.
In early may an array of different leaves can be seen as the plant sends out new rosettes. If the smallest piece of root has been cut off it can germinate.
The Dandelion is complete in all respects. There is no area not covered.
The human through taste finds more connections. Bitter are the roots and the leaves at full growth. The young leaves are very palatable and make a good addition to spring salads, hard boiled eggs can be added. The roots are dried and ground, with boiling water they make a great warming drink and liver cleanse. The root is a diuretic. The flowers taste sweet and are a good to nibble while walking through a field. They can be used to make wine and jam. The fruit tastes nutty. The leaves are high in vitamin A, vitamin C and iron, carrying more iron and calcium than spinach. A decoction of them can be used to treat anemia and nervousness. The milky latex has been used as a mosquito repellent and wart remover.
Dandelion contains Luteolin, an antioxidant, and has demonstrated antioxidant properties without cytotoxicity.
Caffeic acid is a secondary plant metabolite which is produced in Dandelion and Yarrow.
Dandelions are used as food plants by the larvae of some species of Lepidoptera.
Away from their native regions, they have become established in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand as weeds. They are now common plants throughout all temperate regions.
Folk Lore and History :
Saint Bride or Brigid claimed dandelion exudes juice which is good for young lambs and calves.
‘Little notched plant of bride’
‘blow ball’, ‘priests crown’
‘clock’~ If all the seeds fly when blown by a child at play his mother did not want him but if a few remain then he should rush home.
In Germany it's known as a Pusteblume, translated as "blow flower." The number of blows required to completely rid the clock of its seeds is deemed to be the time of day. The name dandelion is derived from the Old French, dent-de-lion, which is literally "lion's tooth", referring to the sharply-lobed leaves of the plant. 1373 was the first written account of the word which we have.
In German, the dandelion is also called Löwenzahn, which is also translated as "lion's tooth." In modern French the plant is called pissenlit, which means "urinate in bed", apparently referring to its diuretic properties. Likewise, "pissabeds" is an English folk name for this plant, and "piscialletto" is one of its folk names in Italian (with "dente di leone", meaning "lion's tooth"). Similarly in Spanish, it is known as the "mea camas", but also commonly "diente de león".
Genetics: dandelions are genetically triploid. An odd number of chromosomes usually is associated with sterility, but dandelions with this karyotype can reproduce without fertilization, a process called apomixis. In these individuals flowers are useless vestigial structures, although they may still produce a small percentage of fertile pollen, keeping some genetic contact with sexual individuals. Diploid dandelions develop seeds after cross-pollination and are self-incompatible. In most zones of southern Europe and Asia, dandelion populations are sexual or mixed sexual-apomictic, while in northern countries only triploid and tetraploid apomicts are present, as is in the zones where it is not native. This seems to be linked to higher temperatures, survival of pre-glacial populations and human impact, but the subject is still being studied.
Personal experiences:
In the first year of the apprentiship being on the farm did not engage me as much with this little plant. When the blanket of yellow filled bee field ( Sturts Farm spring 2006) the sense of warmth did come over me. Soon though it does become come place and I found myself taking it for granted. Then like a reminder the balls of fun appeared. That I do clearly remember there being a stop and look experience. Just settling in this process of appreciation which the apprenticeship gives I was in Awe as I attempted to comprehend the processes at play in such a plant. These thought had the back drop of a plant block course with Margaret Colhoun.
Life moves swiftly on in a Camphill community and I do not remember noticing it again until saw some dried flowers being stuffed into the mesentery of a cow and sewn up. At this stage I did not really look twice as I was squishing fresh cow manure into a cow horn.
On one weekend or course a recall seeing an apprentice I think Boska picking a Dandelion flower and eating, I did as humans do and learn by example. Its sweetness was very appealing and I had another. I felt I had enough after that. From then I periodically have had a flower here or there and enjoyed the experience.
This year having decided on my project I have obviously focused quite attentively on the dandelion. Its ability to appear amongst Tar on a road did amuse me. I felt its power against that of mans ’development’.
Some very dense clusters I watched at Brookthorpe in the walled garden and saw how the fruiting stems rose up well above the still flowering ones.
At Hawkwood College I was introduced to the taste of the young leaves by Utah and did enjoy that a lot.
The removal of these little plants with big roots from the vegetable field was a good connection with what happens below the soil. An appreciation for their size as a whole was obtained.
Early in the summer I saw how some of the leaves would go a purple color.
As the flowers would open there was a clear spiral seen on a number of occasions.
We had a preparation day at Fern Verrow and after much searching the dandelion was found by Laurence. Later we opened the still intact mesentery to find the lovely Dandelion. Now with a squishy texture. On opening the mesentery the flowers were visible as flowers, as they were touched and molded they easily became a humus looking substance.
During spring I came down with a nasty cold whose only benefit was the time to sit and observe the seed head open into being, this was a stead yet extremely fast process for a plant in my understanding. It must have been about 20-30 min. The process which I observed was amazing yet it did not seem to have the same sense as does seeing one closed one day and opened the next. It was as if seeing it in frames broke down the process which I was not really observing anyway. All I saw was snap shot picture( and took snap shot pictures). Possibly I should have kept my eyes on it the whole time. Possibly I should have attempted to feel it.
The Dandelion governs the potassium in relation to silica.’ The Dandelion draws in the homeopathic silica a cosmic substance from the atmosphere and connects it with the earthly substance of potassium.
There is seen to be in any given area a similar amount of silica as to Potassium.
Potassium has 0.001% radioactivity in the earths crust.
Silica is not considered as being significant for plant growth yet it makes up a large part of the earths crust and through spiritual scientific research has been found to be integral in the formative processes of matter.
We are harnessing the germinating forces when we make the preparations.
The flowers are harvested early in the morning when there are still some unopened florets in the center.
This enables them to be dried without going to seed.
All of the forces are moving towards the ultimate expression of the Dandelion in the seed head. The flower is along that process and we take it then while the forces are rich and active and the potential is at its highest.
The mesentery of the cow or peritoneum is the vessel used for the dandelion flowers while they are over wintered in the soil. If a careful butcher opens the cow right where you can see the whole intestine flat. The mesentery is the canvas behind that it is attached to the intestine. What is seen is a beautiful spiral of intestines. The cows digestion is what allows it to be on such a high level in the world of Biodynamics. The deeply meditative processes of chewing and then re chewing have the end result of a
The Cow has a special attunement to the cosmic forces.
The purposes of a container are to contain and in this instance to reinforce and channel the earthly forces which have retreated into the earth of the winter time. The astral quality of the mesentery along with the almost astral quality of flowers can give some stability to the forces working into the preparations.
Many questions do arise with use of animal organs.
A vegetarian man was very shocked when understood the basics of BD and that the cow is at such a central place in the organism of a BD farm. He was astounded that such a deeply spiritual practice could be built on a cow. So if the cow is no more then the practice is no more.
The can not be the case in my reasoning, ‘ The process not the substance is important’. If there is a cows mesentery available for use then why not use it. It is a very deeply physical process which is needed to allow a spiritual action to take place. If there are not mesentery available at the time of making the preparations I believe one should be open to try different things working from the basis and deeper understanding of what is at work in the preparations and what is being attempted. So as to not create a different thing altogether but to follow the same ideas.
What matters is people coming together in community forming culture. All things connecting with this will radiate outwards.
Resources taken from: , From Wikipedia.com, The Biodynamic Preparations as Sense Organs Manfred Klett, Extraordinary Plant Qualities for Biodynamics Jochen Bockemuhl and Kari Jarvinen.
CULTIVATION: As only large, well-formed roots are worth collecting, some people prefer to grow Dandelions as a crop, as by this means large roots are insured and they are more easily dug, generally being ploughed up. About 4 lb. of seed to the acre should be allowed, sown in drills, 1 foot apart. The crops should be kept clean by hoeing, and all flower-heads should be picked off as soon as they appear, as otherwise the grower's own land and that of his neighbors will be smothered with the weed when the seeds ripen. The yield should be 4 or 5 tons of fresh roots to the acre in the second year. Dandelion roots shrink very much in drying, losing about 76 per cent of their weight, so that 100 parts of fresh roots yield only about 22 parts of dry material. Under favorable conditions, yields at the rate of 1,000 to 1,500 lb. of dry roots per acre have been obtained from second-year plants cultivated.
Dandelion root can only be economically collected when a meadow in which it is abundant is ploughed up. Under such circumstances the roots are necessarily of different ages and sizes, the seeds sowing themselves in successive years. The roots then collected after washing and drying, have to be sorted into different grades. The largest, from the size of a lead pencil upwards, are cut into straight pieces 2 to 3 inches long, the smaller side roots being removed, these are sold at a higher price as the finest roots. The smaller roots fetch a less price, and the trimmings are generally cut small, sold at a lower price and used for making Dandelion Coffee. Every part of the root is thus used. The root before being dried should have every trace of the leaf-bases removed as their presence lessens the value of the root.
---Chemical Constituents---The chief constituents of Dandelion root are Taraxacin, acrystalline, bitter substance, of which the yield varies in roots collected at different seasons, and Taraxacerin, an acrid resin, with Inulin (a sort of sugar which replaces starch in many of the Dandelion family, Compositae), gluten, gum and potash. The root contains no starch, but early in the year contains much uncrystallizable sugar and laevulin, which differs from Inulin in being soluble in cold water. This diminishes in quantity during the summer and becomes Inulin in the autumn. The root may contain as much as 24 per cent. In the fresh root, the Inulin is present in the cell-sap, but in the dry root it occurs as an amorphodus, transparent solid, which is only slightly soluble in cold water, but soluble in hot water.
There is a difference of opinion as to the best time for collecting the roots.
DANDELION
From the Agricultural Course:
‘ A clear and visible interaction between silicic acid and potassium not calcium’ In
‘The innocent little Dandelion’ Will
‘ Mediates between the silicic acid finely homeopathically distributed around the cosmos and that which is needed as silicic acid’ The
‘Messenger from Heaven’ Is
‘exposed to the influences of the earth, over winter’ One should,
‘Gather the little heads… let them fade a little… sew up in a bovine mesentery’ In
‘ Spring time you take the balls out… thoroughly saturated with cosmic influence’ This
‘Will give the soil the facility to attract just as much silicic acid from the atmosphere and from the cosmos as the plant needs, to make them really sentient to all that is at work in their environment.. For they themselves will then attract what they need’
‘THE PROCESS NOT THE SUBSTANCE IS IMPORTANT’
Welcome to a little exploration into the world of the Dandelion.
This delicious nutritious little plant soaks up the cosmic forces over winter while it lays amongst the soil. Surfacing in spring we can take a nibble of its fresh leaves. Its sun embodied flowers cascade over the meadows and we awe at their brilliance.
As if on reaching a saturation point of light they transform into globes of light.
The waves of wind carry the seeds through air to ground.
The Dandelion is not a demanding plant who’s latex root is dried and used as a coffee substitute.
The buds open facing the east when the dew has dried and the sun is beaming light and warmth.
They close in the afternoon facing Southwest.
The spherical miracle which occurs when the flower has past its expression is the globe of the dandelion. Fine siliceous cellular tissue is used to build agile parachutes which transport the seeds.
The seeds have tiny hooks on them which give them a farther range if they manage to catch onto a creature in transit
There is a long development for the plant before we recognize the flowers as earthly images of the sun. A germinating Dandelion needs a full summer to orientate itself with its surroundings before flowering. It will form buds in the winter close to the ground in the dense rosette of leaves. This is pulled into the ground and root over winter.
Like a coiled spring its physical form is ready to burst out when the light and warmth of spring returns.
The ever spreading leaves (5-25cm long) are very telling of the journey the plant takes in its development to flowering. In sequence we can see how the leaves grow in size then reduce to almost nothing over winter then return in full glory and size with their bundles of light entrapped in buds.
The tooth looking leaves tend to point inwards which gives me the feeling they are not an expression of defense. Rather that of silica.
The buds are formed at the end of hollow sappy stems( 4-30cm) who seem to have an ability to grown to great heights if surrounded by anything which may obstruct their potential light advantage.
Each flower head has between one hundred and two hundred florets (individual flowers) which open themselves, working from the OUTSIDE in.
One can observe mid flowering a spiral effect as the flower opens to greet the sun. The Florets that is were seen to open in a spiral in some flowers.
If it is a dreary, rainy day with not much light the flowers stay shut. This clearly shows a sensitivity to light.
Butterflies, beetles, flies and bees will see whole areas come into color as I am sure the instinct for rich sun filled pollen propels them towards their nearest flower where the individual florets are easy picking.
When finally the inner most florets have shown themselves and shared their gifts they wither and are pushed out of the closed receptacle like bud through the top.
Now for several days the fruit ripens inside. Then it begins to open, pushing the base up the doors( bracts) bend towards the floor revealing through time a spear of multi fruit who shape shows an orientation to its complete surroundings.
It relates to the wind like a flower does to light.
The favorable fruit germinate in one too two weeks in suitably light situations.
There are usually 54 to 172 seeds produced per head, but a single plant can produce more than 2000 seeds a year. It has been estimated that more than 97 000 000 seeds/hectare could be produced every year by a dense stand of dandelions.
A fruit can form where no cross fertilization has taken place.
In early may an array of different leaves can be seen as the plant sends out new rosettes. If the smallest piece of root has been cut off it can germinate.
The Dandelion is complete in all respects. There is no area not covered.
The human through taste finds more connections. Bitter are the roots and the leaves at full growth. The young leaves are very palatable and make a good addition to spring salads, hard boiled eggs can be added. The roots are dried and ground, with boiling water they make a great warming drink and liver cleanse. The root is a diuretic. The flowers taste sweet and are a good to nibble while walking through a field. They can be used to make wine and jam. The fruit tastes nutty. The leaves are high in vitamin A, vitamin C and iron, carrying more iron and calcium than spinach. A decoction of them can be used to treat anemia and nervousness. The milky latex has been used as a mosquito repellent and wart remover.
Dandelion contains Luteolin, an antioxidant, and has demonstrated antioxidant properties without cytotoxicity.
Caffeic acid is a secondary plant metabolite which is produced in Dandelion and Yarrow.
Dandelions are used as food plants by the larvae of some species of Lepidoptera.
Away from their native regions, they have become established in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand as weeds. They are now common plants throughout all temperate regions.
Folk Lore and History :
Saint Bride or Brigid claimed dandelion exudes juice which is good for young lambs and calves.
‘Little notched plant of bride’
‘blow ball’, ‘priests crown’
‘clock’~ If all the seeds fly when blown by a child at play his mother did not want him but if a few remain then he should rush home.
In Germany it's known as a Pusteblume, translated as "blow flower." The number of blows required to completely rid the clock of its seeds is deemed to be the time of day. The name dandelion is derived from the Old French, dent-de-lion, which is literally "lion's tooth", referring to the sharply-lobed leaves of the plant. 1373 was the first written account of the word which we have.
In German, the dandelion is also called Löwenzahn, which is also translated as "lion's tooth." In modern French the plant is called pissenlit, which means "urinate in bed", apparently referring to its diuretic properties. Likewise, "pissabeds" is an English folk name for this plant, and "piscialletto" is one of its folk names in Italian (with "dente di leone", meaning "lion's tooth"). Similarly in Spanish, it is known as the "mea camas", but also commonly "diente de león".
Genetics: dandelions are genetically triploid. An odd number of chromosomes usually is associated with sterility, but dandelions with this karyotype can reproduce without fertilization, a process called apomixis. In these individuals flowers are useless vestigial structures, although they may still produce a small percentage of fertile pollen, keeping some genetic contact with sexual individuals. Diploid dandelions develop seeds after cross-pollination and are self-incompatible. In most zones of southern Europe and Asia, dandelion populations are sexual or mixed sexual-apomictic, while in northern countries only triploid and tetraploid apomicts are present, as is in the zones where it is not native. This seems to be linked to higher temperatures, survival of pre-glacial populations and human impact, but the subject is still being studied.
Personal experiences:
In the first year of the apprentiship being on the farm did not engage me as much with this little plant. When the blanket of yellow filled bee field ( Sturts Farm spring 2006) the sense of warmth did come over me. Soon though it does become come place and I found myself taking it for granted. Then like a reminder the balls of fun appeared. That I do clearly remember there being a stop and look experience. Just settling in this process of appreciation which the apprenticeship gives I was in Awe as I attempted to comprehend the processes at play in such a plant. These thought had the back drop of a plant block course with Margaret Colhoun.
Life moves swiftly on in a Camphill community and I do not remember noticing it again until saw some dried flowers being stuffed into the mesentery of a cow and sewn up. At this stage I did not really look twice as I was squishing fresh cow manure into a cow horn.
On one weekend or course a recall seeing an apprentice I think Boska picking a Dandelion flower and eating, I did as humans do and learn by example. Its sweetness was very appealing and I had another. I felt I had enough after that. From then I periodically have had a flower here or there and enjoyed the experience.
This year having decided on my project I have obviously focused quite attentively on the dandelion. Its ability to appear amongst Tar on a road did amuse me. I felt its power against that of mans ’development’.
Some very dense clusters I watched at Brookthorpe in the walled garden and saw how the fruiting stems rose up well above the still flowering ones.
At Hawkwood College I was introduced to the taste of the young leaves by Utah and did enjoy that a lot.
The removal of these little plants with big roots from the vegetable field was a good connection with what happens below the soil. An appreciation for their size as a whole was obtained.
Early in the summer I saw how some of the leaves would go a purple color.
As the flowers would open there was a clear spiral seen on a number of occasions.
We had a preparation day at Fern Verrow and after much searching the dandelion was found by Laurence. Later we opened the still intact mesentery to find the lovely Dandelion. Now with a squishy texture. On opening the mesentery the flowers were visible as flowers, as they were touched and molded they easily became a humus looking substance.
During spring I came down with a nasty cold whose only benefit was the time to sit and observe the seed head open into being, this was a stead yet extremely fast process for a plant in my understanding. It must have been about 20-30 min. The process which I observed was amazing yet it did not seem to have the same sense as does seeing one closed one day and opened the next. It was as if seeing it in frames broke down the process which I was not really observing anyway. All I saw was snap shot picture( and took snap shot pictures). Possibly I should have kept my eyes on it the whole time. Possibly I should have attempted to feel it.
The Dandelion governs the potassium in relation to silica.’ The Dandelion draws in the homeopathic silica a cosmic substance from the atmosphere and connects it with the earthly substance of potassium.
There is seen to be in any given area a similar amount of silica as to Potassium.
Potassium has 0.001% radioactivity in the earths crust.
Silica is not considered as being significant for plant growth yet it makes up a large part of the earths crust and through spiritual scientific research has been found to be integral in the formative processes of matter.
We are harnessing the germinating forces when we make the preparations.
The flowers are harvested early in the morning when there are still some unopened florets in the center.
This enables them to be dried without going to seed.
All of the forces are moving towards the ultimate expression of the Dandelion in the seed head. The flower is along that process and we take it then while the forces are rich and active and the potential is at its highest.
The mesentery of the cow or peritoneum is the vessel used for the dandelion flowers while they are over wintered in the soil. If a careful butcher opens the cow right where you can see the whole intestine flat. The mesentery is the canvas behind that it is attached to the intestine. What is seen is a beautiful spiral of intestines. The cows digestion is what allows it to be on such a high level in the world of Biodynamics. The deeply meditative processes of chewing and then re chewing have the end result of a
The Cow has a special attunement to the cosmic forces.
The purposes of a container are to contain and in this instance to reinforce and channel the earthly forces which have retreated into the earth of the winter time. The astral quality of the mesentery along with the almost astral quality of flowers can give some stability to the forces working into the preparations.
Many questions do arise with use of animal organs.
A vegetarian man was very shocked when understood the basics of BD and that the cow is at such a central place in the organism of a BD farm. He was astounded that such a deeply spiritual practice could be built on a cow. So if the cow is no more then the practice is no more.
The can not be the case in my reasoning, ‘ The process not the substance is important’. If there is a cows mesentery available for use then why not use it. It is a very deeply physical process which is needed to allow a spiritual action to take place. If there are not mesentery available at the time of making the preparations I believe one should be open to try different things working from the basis and deeper understanding of what is at work in the preparations and what is being attempted. So as to not create a different thing altogether but to follow the same ideas.
What matters is people coming together in community forming culture. All things connecting with this will radiate outwards.
Resources taken from: , From Wikipedia.com, The Biodynamic Preparations as Sense Organs Manfred Klett, Extraordinary Plant Qualities for Biodynamics Jochen Bockemuhl and Kari Jarvinen.
CULTIVATION: As only large, well-formed roots are worth collecting, some people prefer to grow Dandelions as a crop, as by this means large roots are insured and they are more easily dug, generally being ploughed up. About 4 lb. of seed to the acre should be allowed, sown in drills, 1 foot apart. The crops should be kept clean by hoeing, and all flower-heads should be picked off as soon as they appear, as otherwise the grower's own land and that of his neighbors will be smothered with the weed when the seeds ripen. The yield should be 4 or 5 tons of fresh roots to the acre in the second year. Dandelion roots shrink very much in drying, losing about 76 per cent of their weight, so that 100 parts of fresh roots yield only about 22 parts of dry material. Under favorable conditions, yields at the rate of 1,000 to 1,500 lb. of dry roots per acre have been obtained from second-year plants cultivated.
Dandelion root can only be economically collected when a meadow in which it is abundant is ploughed up. Under such circumstances the roots are necessarily of different ages and sizes, the seeds sowing themselves in successive years. The roots then collected after washing and drying, have to be sorted into different grades. The largest, from the size of a lead pencil upwards, are cut into straight pieces 2 to 3 inches long, the smaller side roots being removed, these are sold at a higher price as the finest roots. The smaller roots fetch a less price, and the trimmings are generally cut small, sold at a lower price and used for making Dandelion Coffee. Every part of the root is thus used. The root before being dried should have every trace of the leaf-bases removed as their presence lessens the value of the root.
---Chemical Constituents---The chief constituents of Dandelion root are Taraxacin, acrystalline, bitter substance, of which the yield varies in roots collected at different seasons, and Taraxacerin, an acrid resin, with Inulin (a sort of sugar which replaces starch in many of the Dandelion family, Compositae), gluten, gum and potash. The root contains no starch, but early in the year contains much uncrystallizable sugar and laevulin, which differs from Inulin in being soluble in cold water. This diminishes in quantity during the summer and becomes Inulin in the autumn. The root may contain as much as 24 per cent. In the fresh root, the Inulin is present in the cell-sap, but in the dry root it occurs as an amorphodus, transparent solid, which is only slightly soluble in cold water, but soluble in hot water.
There is a difference of opinion as to the best time for collecting the roots.
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Hydraulic Oil Press
:) Thanks for shhare.
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