Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Word origins: dandelion

Dandelion. Noun, Weedy plant having deeply notched leaves and golden flowers. From the French, “dent de lion,” the teeth of a lion, referring to the “deeply notched leaves.”

The genus/species name is Taraxacum officinale. The “officinale” refers to the fact that the dandelion was used once medicinally.

2 comments:

  1. What is it that determines it is a weed rather than a flowering plant? I always wondered who/what makes that distinction. Would love to hear more about it.

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  2. Generally, a weed is a perfectly innocent plant in the wrong place, at the wrong time, just trying to do what God wants it to do, be fruitful and multiply.

    A field of dandelions, whether the golden flower, or the puff of seeds is an unabashedly beautiful sight. Unless you're the farmer trying to grow hay.

    Yours, "rooted"

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