Dandelions belong to the Asteraceae family, formerly known as dandelions, there are many aliases, such as Huahualang, dandelion, edible dandelion, bedwetting grass, Western dandelion, mother-in-law, etc., my hometown called dandelion as mother-in-law. Every spring, dandelions bloom new flowers, and neighbors will bring small shovels and pockets to dig up ditches in the wasteland to mix or dry to make tea.
Dandelion is a perennial herb with slightly conical roots and wavy teeth or pinnate deep fissures at the leaf edges. What we usually call dandelion flowers bloom only one bunch of yellow florets, which is a cephalic inflorescence, with about 200 small flowers on the head, the flowers are golden yellow, mostly seen from March to September.
Dandelions are also famous for the seeds on their flower trays that can fly with the wind, and the white crown hairs on the seeds, when blown by the wind, spread everywhere, often likened to parachutes.
Dandelion young leaves contain a lot of vitamins A, C and potassium, and are also rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, boron, folic acid and copper. Dandelion plants contain a variety of healthy nutrients such as dandelion alcohol, dandelion, choline, organic acids, and inulin. The whole plant can be eaten raw, made into tea, and soup, and is a plant that can be used both medicinally and food.
Dandelion is rich in potassium and other elements, which is beneficial to cholediuretic, spleen, heat removal and other effects. Dandelions are rich in nectar and pollen and are good source plants for nectar powder. Dandelion honey inherits the role value of dandelion, dandelion honey has the floral scent of dandelion, but some people don't like this full of personality flavor. When the honey is not crystallized, it is amber, easy to crystallize, and the texture is dense after crystallization, showing a fine grease.
Dandelions are widely distributed throughout China and are intensively grown in north, northeast and southwest China, and dandelion honey is mainly produced here. However, dandelion honey is a rare honey species, and pure dandelion honey can rarely be bought on the market, and there are fewer wild dandelion honeys, and customers who prefer dandelion honey need to pay attention to screening.
Article source: Dr. Bee APP