Wetting the bed, nipple warts and a typo

Personally I don't like eating dandelion leaves. To say that they are bitter is somewhat of an understatement. Yet since their mention more than a millennia ago in Arabic herbal texts they have been consumed for their medicinal qualities.

Make sure you leave some for the bugs

The leaves contain vitamins A, B, C and D, as well as lots of potassium. If you have cystitis and need to wee lots then take an infusion of the leaves. If you have osteoarthritis then take a regular decoction of the root, but if you take a tincture of the leaf and root together this will (apparently) aid in stimulation of bile flow and increase your likelihood of needing a number two.

The etymology of the word dandelion could well come from the French 'dent de lion', in reference to the lion's tooth shape of the leaves. However the modern day name for dandelion is 'pissenlit' or in English 'piss-a-bed', in reference to its diuretic qualities.

If you don't fancy digging up the roots or eating bitter leaves that cause you to wet the bed then fair enough, I won't try to convince you otherwise. I will however try to convince you to give the flowers a try, they have a unique, appealing fragrance. Many home-brew wine guides include recipes for dandelion wine but if you find any flowers still blooming at this time of year why not try making a sticky, floral syrup for pouring on strawberries and cream - dandelicious!

There are several dandelion lookalikes out there that you may have never even heard of such as Cat's-ear, Smooth Cat's-ear and Spotted Cat's ear, as well as various species of Hawk's-Beards, Hawkbit and the amusingly named Nipplewort. Don't worry though as none of these are poisonous, however if you're keen to get a positive dandelion ID (because let's face it, nobody wants to eat something called Nipplewort) look for these three key characteristics:
1) A rosette of leaves at the base of the plant;
2) A leafless, hollow and unbranched stem;
3) Lots of milky latex oozing from the broken stems.

Be quick though as if you wait much longer you have to wait until next spring before you find whole fields of flowers. In the meantime why not return to your childhood days and give nature a helping hand by kicking seed heads to smithereens and letting next year's crop float with the wind on a balmy days in June. It's equally as fun to use these fluffy-white seed clusters to practise your next tee-shot when out on the golf course.

Don't wait too long, otherwise they'll be gone until next Spring...