Latin name: Taraxacum officinale
Also know as: Dandelion, blowball, cankerwort, doon-head-clock, witch’s gowan, milk witch, lion’s-tooth, yellow-gowan, Irish daisy, monks-head, priest’s-crown, and puff-ball

Origin: Poland
Supplier-ID: AG-53212Y

Taraxacum officinale – Dandelion Root

The entire Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) plant, including the leaves, stems, flowers, and roots, is edible and nutritious, with nutrients such as vitamins A and K as well as calcium and iron. Dandelions are found on six continents and have been gathered for food since prehistory, but the varieties commercially cultivated for consumption are mainly native to Eurasia and North America. A perennial plant, its leaves grow back if the taproot is left intact. To make leaves more palatable, they are often blanched to remove bitterness, or sauteed in the same way as spinach. Dandelion greens have been a part of traditional Kashmiri cuisine, Lebanese cuisine, Spanish cuisine, Italian cuisine, Albanian cuisine, Slovenian, Sephardic Jewish, Chinese, Greek cuisine (χόρτα) and Korean cuisines. In Crete, the leaves of a variety called ‘Mari’ (Μαρί), ‘Mariaki’ (Μαριάκι), or ‘Koproradiko’ (Κοπροράδικο) are eaten by locals, either raw or boiled, in salads. T. megalorhizon, a species endemic to Crete, is eaten in the same way; it is found only at high altitudes (1,000–1,600 metres (3,300–5,200 ft)) and in fallow sites,