🌼 Dandelion: A Medicinal Plant with History
🌿 Perennial plant up to 50 cm tall
Dandelion is a perennial herbaceous plant, recognizable by its thick taproot, which exudes a milky white latex when cut—a distinctive feature of this species.
🌞 Blooms year-round
From its base emerge erect flower stems topped with a bright yellow flower made up of numerous elongated petals. This flower opens at dawn and closes at dusk, adding color to the Asturian landscape all year.
🌬️ Wind-dispersed fruit
After flowering, it produces a tiny fruit attached to a feathery structure that allows it to travel on the wind. Children often call these “little angels” when they blow them away.
💊 Medicinal properties
Dandelion has well-known purifying, diuretic, laxative, anti-rheumatic, sudorific, and appetite-stimulating properties. It is traditionally used in Asturian natural medicine.
🧪 Parts used
The most commonly used parts for therapeutic purposes are:
✔️ The leaves (in infusions or raw),
✔️ The flower, and
✔️ The root, especially for its liver and digestive effects.
🌱 Present in the Sella River Basin
Throughout the Sella River basin, this plant is commonly found in fields, along paths, and in damp areas, naturally integrating into Asturias’s plant landscape.
tag: river sella flora – dandelion
