It’s that time of year again when our green areas are taken over by dandelions! To many, they may be a pest and discarded as just a weed, but actually, they are so much more and I’ve grown to be rather fond of them, especially when they’re a source of food for my tortoise!
Therefore, today I’m going to be sharing some fun facts about dandelions I researched and some dandelion activities that will hopefully change how you feel about these dandy dandelions!
Fact 1: They are actually herbs! This means the whole part of the plant is edible… not just for tortoises! They have also been used in all sorts of medicines.
Fact 2: The head of the dandelion consists of up to 300 ray flowers, these look like tiny petals at a first glance.
Fact 3: Dandelions are very resilient, if you mow them, they’ll grow back, just with shorter stalks! If disturbed, they will produce more seeds than usual. (The dandelion sounds quite sassy to me.)
Fact 4: Dandelions are very good at travelling; their seeds can travel up to 5 miles!
Fact 5: They don’t rely on anything for pollination, these plants can pollinate themselves.
Fact 6: Dandelions are the only plants to represent the three celestial bodies. The yellow flower represents the sun, the dispersing seeds represent the stars, and the white puff ball of a dandelion represents the moon.
Fact 7: The pollen of a dandelion cannot cause allergies! Therefore, they can’t be blamed for hayfever! This is because the grains of pollen are too large to be of any bother.
Fact 8: Dandelions can actually grow rather tall, they can reach a height of 17 inches.
Fact 9: The name Dandelion comes from the French, “dent de lion.” The translation for this is lion’s tooth and this is a reference to the Dandelion’s serrated leaf structure.
Fact 10: The Dandelion is rather hard! It can withstand harsh growing conditions, it can cope with the cold, overcrowding and heat, and they literally grow where they can!
Changed your mind yet? Well if not, I’ve researched some possible activities you can carry out using dandelions, with your little people and below are some links to my favourites!
