Читать книгу The Scout's Guide to Wild Edibles. Learn How To Forage, Prepare & Eat 40 Wild Foods онлайн

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Dandelion

RANGE:

Widespread throughout the U.S. and Canada

HABITAT:

Lawns

POSITIVE ID:

• Dandelion is a common yellow-flowering plant, abundant in the spring.

• Its deeply notched, toothed leaves stay in a basal rosette.

• Several flowers grow from a single rosette. Each flower has its own leafless, unbranched stalk. The flower head is 1–2″ in diameter.

• Flower stalks are hollow. When broken, the stalk bleeds a bitter white latex, as does the midvein of each leaf and the taproot.

• The seedhead is spherical. Seeds are attached to a pad in the center. Each has a thin stem tipped by a feathery umbrella-rib-like pappus, which functions as an open parachute to carry the seed away.

EDIBLE PARTS & PREPARATION:

The whole plant is edible. Wild foods expert Sam Thayer enjoys snacking on raw flower stalks, but I find them too bitter. Rapidly growing leaves are the least bitter; gather them from the shaded edge of mowed areas, where they turn vertical to compete for sunlight with the deep grass around them. Remove the bitter tasting midvein. Taproots can be roasted and ground to use in coffee or ice cream. Making dandelion flower donuts (page 138) is an easy and fun activity loved by thousands of students and Scouts. For something more savory, try making Dandy Burgers (page 141). To prepare dandelion flowers for cooking, see page 121.