“Airily apogamy”

 

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Paardenbloem

 

Every Dutchman and almost every other European or citizen of the United States knows about blowing away the fluff of the Dandelion. These little parachutes are fighting against the gravity of the seeds and succeed to secure that long airjourney.

Billions of people don’t notice that after blowing away the seeds with fluffs an important amount of fluffies will keep stuck. The amount of those stuck fluffies after one time blowing is supposed to be the amount of years you will live. It could be you don’t have time to lose!

In that case, you could blow again… The story tells after three times blowing the fluffs you can know what time it is.

This Broad-lobe dandelion clearly has a connection to the air. The wind blows away the seeds to support reproduction. For a human the action of blowing away fluffs can give some relieve. Because of this clear connection of the plant with air some people say this plant can be usefull to contact ghosts. The Dandelion should also have some kind of wishpower 😉

Dandelion seeds and fluffs

Makingwishes and the element of air often go hand in hand. Like example the wishes that are written in the garlands and hanged in the air above all people. The ghosts in the wind can read the wishes and take it with ‘em. By blowing away the fluffs and making a wish, that wish will come true. The wind-connection makes the Dandelion to pull the truth out of the air.

The still yellow flower of the Dandelion can be used for tea. When you have your tea next to your bed, the rising damp will talk to ghosts. When you prefer to drink your tea before falling asleep, you can stay awake longer because you need to go to the toilet for sure with its urine releasing effect.

The pain caused by rheumatism can be softened by a tea of Dandelion. The uric acid that causes the pain is getting kicked out. If the tea has been made by roasted and small crushed Dandelion roots, you could experience a temporary rise of your paranormal gifts. The roots of the Dandelion have a bittersweet taste.

In the whole herb are minerals and vitamins to be found and they will make your resistance rise for a while if you consume it. This Dandelion is being picked a lot by wild vegetables eaters.

If you want to eat the Dandelion, then remember that the stem of the flowers has a little bit of poisonous milkjuice like the Wolf’s milk (Euphorbia) plant. With this poisonous milk it’s possible to burn your warts away and this milk is being used by the plant for self-defense. Some animals will die eating it.

 

The old Dutch folks called this plant “melkwied” (= milkweed) before they called it “paardenbloem” (=horseflower). Better don’t eat the stems! The leaf can be eaten despite the fact rubber is inside.  Inside the leafs also resin, tannin, etheric oil, vitamin A, B, C and the bitter substances like taraxaci can be found.

To let your delicioustastious gift rise, you can soften the bitter taste of the leafs by putting the leafs in water for one hour. The younger the leafs are, the fresher they taste. This fresh salat revives your appetite and also purifies the blood from redundant stuff. This can give new space for the new healthy food.

As you might know it’s not hard to find a Dandelion. In the months March till November can this member of the plantfamilie Compositae betray himself between the green grass and rough herbs by his yellow head. In the months of winter this plant can survive without his flower but he can keep some leafs.

The most special about this Dandelion is the fact that only in the Netherlands there are two hundred and fifty different species! Only specialized Dandeleonspecialists can differ them with a microscope and surrounding information. You got special types that seem to be different species and are specialised for example for skimpy grassland or sand. Also a different type has been named by his different color… orange. So it is a little bit more darker then the normal yellow colour.

Many of these Dandelionspecies are called microspecies. All these species are looking that similar that also in science sometimes it has been accepted as just one specie, a Common dandelion. All these subspecies hybrid, so that’s why it’s impossible for most people to see the differences.

In the past the common used Latin nomenclature for this Dandelion was not Taraxacum officinalis like it’s now, but Leontodon taraxacum. This is the genus of Lionteeth Leontodon. Also the Dandelion sometimes was been called a Lionteeth.

The normal form of reproduction of the Dandelion is not sexual. But THAT is what makes this species extraordinary! The most common way of reproduction of the Dandelion is without sexual interaction. So this herb can create seeds without being pollinated. The official word what can be used for this event is apogamy. It is a form of apomixis. For example the Walnut (Juglans regia) can also create fruit only by himself.

The result of this asexual reproducements is the change in DNA of a plant will keep existing in every offspring. Because of these apomictic Dandelions are growing all over the world, it seems that this strategy really works! And now many subspecies exist. With this the appearance of a Dandelion can differ on many places.

In genesis this Dandelion comes from North America but nowadays it’s hard to think these flowers out of our mind. But many people do want that. To get these flowers out of the garden a lawnmower is not very useful. The leafs on the ground are untouchable for the lawnmower.

Dandelions will not quickly be competed away by other plants. The Dandelion prevents the sunlight on the soil with the big leafs flat on the ground. Without sun his potential competitors can’t start to grow. Surprisingly this Dandelion can help other plants also,

Besides the delicious Dandelionsoups you can also make plantshit from it. By putting the total plant in boiled water and having patience. When the water is colled down again you can use the water to feed your plants and help them growing faster. But fertilizing often helps the Dandelion and other so called weeds. Also animals profit from this herb. They do it on a more natural way.

Despite the fact that the plant is apogamic, it contains surprisingly enough pollen and honey. Honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies and various solitary bees, like digging bees (Andrena spec.), sand bees (Lassioglossum spec.) and mason bees (Osmia spec.) like to do their shopping here. This yellow flowerhead of the Dandelion can contain 200 separate flowers. That’s nice! Though hundreds of thousands flowerheads need to be visited by a bee to get a kilogram of honey. But a kilo cannot be carried by a bee so it’s not that big issue..

Ducks and gooses (Anatidae) appreciate the flowers also, just like they appreciate eating the seeds.

Animals like rabbit (Oryctolagus caniculus), several types of deers (Cervidae) and the Common squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) like to eat the Dandelion raw. They don’t eat the honey but several other parts of the plant. The Dandelion in the Netherlands also has been called ‘Konijnenbladen’ (=rabbitleafs) in the past.

The reason why the dutchman calls a Dandelion a ‘paardenbloem’ (=horseflower) after the horse (Equus ferus caballus), is because this animal just as other grazing big animals like cows, like to take a bite in the plant. The old stories tell us a horse brings the rider to fairyland. Fairies like softhearted animals.

Other Dutch names are “Pisbloem” (=pissing flower) and “Bedplasser” (=bed pisser). Of course this has something to do with the medical effects of Dandelian.

Besides drifting moisture the plant can also help cleaning the blood and it has been said make a wonder come true like healing squint-eyes. It can also help with tired eyes, tearing eyes caused by wind or as a morning-effect, near sightedness, cataract, but it has also a clear function pointed to the liver. The liver can be connected to Jupiter by the native medical knowledge just as the big yellow Dandelion. I should say the sun should be connected to this plant too somehow.

The medical qualities have been cultivated in the monastery gardens. That’s why the Latin common noun officinale is being used.. Also effects has been discovered like gallstones, jaundice, obesity, like has been said rheumatism, gout, lazy intestines and diabetes. Maybe that’s why the plant has been called “Wilde suikerij” (Wild sugary) in old Dutch.

The yellow pigment of the flowers can also be used by humans to paint food, for example butter can be painted well in yellow color. In France, people sometimes make a confiture out of the Dandelion flowers. In France language they call the plant ‘Pissenlit’. In a confiture it is nice to combine the Dandelion with oranges and lemons.

Now you discovered this so called weed also can be a very useful plant for many different organisme included the human beings. Like men suppress this plant, a man can suppress himself. The Dandelion seems to help freeing yourself against the suppression to be yourself with your own personal power. You can be good if you are being yourself. The Dandelion let the life flow into your body and it can let you shine, seen through your skin and hair.

If you let yourself live without illusions and let the suppression just go, then you will be of a much bigger value for yourself ánd your (upcoming) love. You can, when ready for this fluffyhead, visualize your message being taken away with the fluffs you blow away. After this it’s time to bury the Dandelion in the northwest corner of the ground around your house. This will let your fait be unwrapped positively.