Early Spring Wildflowers

I love early spring wildflowers. But you must be vigilant in looking for them. If you blink with some (like the Twinleaf) you will miss them entirely. The twinleaf flowers last less than a day once they open. By nighttime, the petals have dropped. Here are a few from my woodland garden this spring.

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis

Celandine Poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum

Twinleaf, Jeffersonia diphylla

Squirrel Corn, Dicentra canadensis

Herb of the Week: Blue Cohosh

I feel a day is wasted unless you have learned something new. It doesn't have to be a huge thing, just something new. After taking a recent hike to snap some spring wildflower pictures, I found out that new thing for the day. During the hike I saw some blue cohosh that had just sprouted up and was in flower (see picture below). It sported deep maroon flowers rather than the light green ones I was used too. I snapped some pictures and looked it up when I got back. This is when I learned that new thing.

I never realized there was more than one species of blue cohosh but it seems there are two. The maroon flowers were an indication of Northern Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum giganteum) whereas the species I was more familiar with, Caulophyllum thalictroides, has more numerous, light green flowers.

Both plants overlay much of the same native range though C. thalictroides ranges a little farther south and west than its sister species. (See http://plants.usda.gov for range details.) As for how to tell which species it is other than by its flower? Well, C. giganteum blooms 10-15 days earlier and has larger and less pinnately divided leaves than C. thalictroides. Exact differences according to one source were:

The two species differ somewhat vegetatively. The ultimate leaf segments of  C. giganteum are 5–10 cm long and first leaf is 2- or, more commonly, 3-times pinnately divided. The ultimate leaf segments of C. thalictroides are 3–8 cm long and the first leaf is 3- or, more commonly, 4-times pinnately divided.

It was a good day for something new indeed!

Northern Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum giganteum) in flower:

Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) in flower:

Blue Cohosh foliage:

Blue Cohosh fruits (green) early/midsummer:

Blue Cohosh fruits (ripe) late summer:

Has Spring Sprung Yet?

Bloodroot is one of my spring favorites but I haven't spied yet, but my pussy willow, coltsfoot, and crocus are blooming. I guess I will have to keep my eyes open!

Keep Calm and Think Spring

Recently I saw an image that said, "Keep Calm and Think Spring." After the long and cold winter it has been, I think we are all beginning to think spring. Actually, it is probably more than just thinking of spring. It is needing spring. As such, we begin to look for those harbingers of spring -- and we all have specific ones we look for.

When I think of early spring, I begin to think of certain flowers blooming and certain animals making their appearance. Last spring I wrote about Turkey Vultures making their spring return appearance. On another blog, I've also written about Pussy Willows Blooming, Seeing Spring Ephemerals, and other signs of spring.

But today, I'm thinking about the late spring sights. I guess I'm tired of winter's browns and grays and need that emerald green of verdant May. So what do I think of in bloom come mid to late May? Many things to be sure! But today the mid to late spring sight that is on my mind is the Lily-of-the-Valley. Give them a shady spot, and they will fill the area with their tulip-like leaves and racemes of tiny bell-like flowers. The best part of these flowers, is their scent. It is heavenly and rich and it always reminds me of being a kid for my mom had these in her gardens. I loved picking a few to make a tiny bouquet for her. She had a special little bud vase for such tiny bouquets. Despite their petite size, these bouquets would perfume a room.

A few lily-of-the-valley tips:

• They do spread via rhizome so take care of placement for they will crowd out other plants, weeds and other flowers alike. Can be a blessing and a curse so add wisely. 


• Unlike many shade loving plants, these plants can tolerate a dry shade. In shady areas near your house's foundation, downspouts, under bushes, etc. where little else can grow, these plants can survive and thrive.


• All parts of these plants including the red berry-like fruits are highly poisonous. The plant has at least 40 different cardiac glycosides. As you can guess, those compounds are not so good for the healthy heart.
  
  If you are worried about young children and poisonous plants, then skip this one. But as I've said before, you should be teaching your young children plant safety! I was picking bouquets of these when I was 4-5 years old for my mom. I didn't get poisoned for at that tender age I had already learned plant safety from my mom. In fact, she made sure to specifically tell us about lily-of-the-valley's poisonous nature. Don't dumb down things for your kids. Treat them like the intelligent, responsible people you want them to be. And always make a good hand-washing when coming in from outdoors a requirement like my mom did. 


• With their tiny bells they make a great fairy garden plant.


• The scent is intoxicating that no fake, store-bought lily-of-the-valley fragrance can compare to. If you have scent or moonlight garden, this is a must.


• I like the standard white variety best, but other cultivars are available including double and pink flowers plus variegated foliage.

Know Your Herbs?

Today's Know Your Herbs is a bit different. Instead of giving you one herb to identify, I'm giving you two. More than that, I'm giving you two that look very similar when coming up in the spring. (To get a closer look at the details of these plants, be sure to click on the images for the full sized image.) I specifically took the photos where both plants were similar in size and didn't have last year's stalks in view giving you other clues as to the identification.

These plants are both medicinal herbs native to the North Eastern United States. The shoots of one of these herbs can be eaten if prepared correctly. The other is toxic and no amount of cooking will change that. This is a wonderful example of why you must be able to correctly identify not only a plant but any possible look-a-likes before ever harvesting a single leaf.

Think you know what these are? Check your answer here.

Herb #1

Herb #2

Spring Blooms - Eastern Redbud Tree

A favorite spring tree of mine is the native eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis). It is a spring blooming small tree that creates clouds of pink pea-like blooms.  The tree has a pleasing shape with a round or flat-topped crown which lends that shape to its cloud-like appearance of pink blooms.

I urge you to consider this beautiful, care-free tree in your landscaping plans. To learn more about the tree and its needs, see one of the following:

USDA Plant Guide or USDA Fact Sheet
Missouri Botanical Garden
Wild Flower Center

And for an always fascinating read, be sure to read the Plants for a Future entry on the redbud. Did you know that the flowers are edible? (I can attest to that since I've nibbled the blooms on hikes.) And did you know, that like so many of our native plants, there are herbal uses of the redbud? Read the PFAF entry for more!

To help showcase its appeal, here are some photos of the redbud in bloom:

Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis

Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis - blooms sprout from the trunk and branches

The eastern redbud (seen left) is a beautiful specimen tree for your landscape. 

It is seen here in the plantings around the Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic's 

labyrinth gardens.  

Herb of the Week: Asparagus

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)

Like so many of our food plants and culinary herbs, asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a plant that offers us something for our dinner plate as well as being an herb with medicinal uses. It is the earliest cultivated food item that I harvest each spring. Surely our ancestors appreciated that and it may be part of the reason why this plant has been harvested for more than 5,000 years.

Yesterday I harvested the first asparagus of the season. They are so good and so fresh, I always munch a few spears before I even get the bag to the house. Because this early vegetable is so tasty and so nutritious, rather than speak of the medicinal or other herbal qualities of this plant or the other species in the Asparagus genus*, I will share a simple recipe that I'm sure you will love as much as I:

Grilled Asparagus

Fresh asparagus spears
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Wash and drain asparagus well. Snap tough ends off.
2. Preheat broiler or grill - this recipe will work with either method. I usually do them under the broiler. 
3. Arrange on a sheet pan in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil (approx. 1-2 tbsp. for 1 lb. bunch). Roll spears around to coat evenly with oil. 
4. Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.
5. Put pan under the broiler or lay spears directly on your grill. Cook until bright green and done to your preference. Flip half way through cooking. 
6. Optional: Use other seasonings for different tastes - lemon pepper, garlic salt, etc.

This recipe is naturally gluten free, lactose free, and vegan.

* There are other edible and medical members of the Asparagus genus. To learn more about them, search for "asparagus" at Plants for a Future Database.

Laughing in Flowers

If the Earth laughs in flowers, then spring must be quite the season of giggles and belly-laughs!

Some of my favorite flowers, such as violets, bloom this time of the year. Violets are one of my oldest and dearest favorites. I have very fond memories of them even as a young child. Some think of them as weeds - which is quite impossible to my way of thinking! Here are a couple of snaps of a few of my violets in bloom at the moment.

Viola odorata 'Rosina'

A wild growing Viola sp. in my lawn (perhaps another Viola odorata)

Signs of Spring

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
(photo by Dori, Wikimedia Commons)

Unlike some, I find the return appearance of the American Robin (Turdus migratorius) a poor indicator of the coming spring season. Too many times I have seen these birds looking cold and miserable as a late winter snow storm pounds the area. No, I find a less beautiful bird a much better indicator and harbinger of the coming spring. The Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) doesn't make his return to my area until spring is very close - usually syncing their appearance with the emergence of pussy willow catkins and skunk cabbage flowers which are other seasonal signs I look for.

Over this past weekend I saw my first turkey vultures of the season plus my pussy willow tree is also getting large and fuzzy catkins. I'll have to go out hiking to look for other pussy willows (Salix spp.), skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), and coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) to get a better guess as to how close spring is.

Either way, I had better finish my garden planning for the upcoming season - it will be here soon!

Update: Shortly after publishing this article, I happened to spy another one of my key spring signs. A Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) was visiting my place and looking to lay his claim again to my yard. These highly territorial and migratory birds are warm weather only visitors at my house. All summer long I get to hear their bird "Top 40" - as I call their repertoire of copied bird song. Many times the male mockingbirds have they fooled visitors to my house thinking I have resident bluebirds. No bluebirds here but their copied song by proxy!

Northeast Wildflowers and Wild Plants

As time allows, I will be creating and uploading videos featuring wildflowers and other plants of the woodlands of the Northeastern United States. These videos will feature identification tips, ethnobotanical information, and various bits of related trivia. I have created a playlist at YouTube for this series which you may find at YouTube or you may view it below. At the time of this writing, I have three videos available but visit often since there will be more!

The Coming Season

Bloodroot - One of the heralds of spring

I often wonder if people who live in warm, green places all year long can appreciate what kind of gift that truly is. It has been months since my world was green and so it is about this point in the winter that I begin to long for the green of spring and become anxious for those few first blooms that are heralds of the coming season.

Don't get me wrong - I love winter. It is a quiet season, where like the Earth herself, I am able to turn inward to refresh and renew myself for the coming year. But winter is a season of browns, grays, white, and black and I miss the green of the growing and vibrant plant world - my green neighbors are all asleep. And so May is my favorite time of the year. May cloaks the world in a vivid bright green. That green of May is so vivid and so full of life that it is palpable. It takes on a magical quality that puts a smile on your face and a spring in your step. You feel like you are dancing on air and it is no wonder why our ancestors held various spring celebrations like May Day. They felt that energy and joy too.

So while I do not want to wish the season away, I do await those first few blooms of late winter and early spring with bated breath!

Herb of the Week - Goldenseal

Goldenseal, Hydrastis canadensis
 

Goldenseal, Hydrastis canadensis

This week's herb is another medicinal plant native to our eastern woodlands that is currently blooming. While we are now in the bloom time of this plant, I am fairly certain that our readers have not seen this plant or its blooms.

This plant is a small, growing only 6-12" high and it has neither showy blooms or leaves. But more than its unassuming appearance, this plant has become increasingly rare in its native range. While habitat loss has effected all native plant populations, this plant's disappearance has been largely due to the overharvesting of wild plants for the herb trade. This plant is one of the most widely used herbs in America, second only to wild American ginseng, Panax quinquefolius. [Source: Planting the Future by Rosemary Gladstar]

Goldenseal was first used medicinally by the Native peoples of North America such as the Cherokee, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), and Micmac where it was used for a wide range of remedies including those for diarrhea, inflammations, "sour stomach," fevers, liver complaints, and cancer. [Source: Native American Ethnobotany by Daniel Moerman] Later on the Eclectic medicine practitioners of the 1800's adopted goldenseal into their pharmacopeia as well. See King's American Dispensatory for an example of how goldenseal was used by this school of herbalism. Modern herbalists use goldenseal for a number of reasons but one of the chief reasons is for its antibacterial properties.

According to a 20-year, 16 organization study report, 34,000 plant species -- 12% of the plants worldwide and 29% of the plants in the US -- have become so rare that they could easily disappear. [Source: Planting the Future] Some of our most loved native medicinal plants clearly make that list. The United Plant Savers (UpS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of native medicinal plants. UpS maintains a list of plants that are most at-risk of vanishing completely called the "At-Risk" List. Goldenseal is on that list and so the UpS recommends that you use:

• Alternatives to goldenseal such as barberry, cultivated oregon grape, cultivated yerba mansa, and other cultivated Berberis species.

• Use only cultivated goldenseal 

I urge you , whether you are an herbalist or just a user of herbs, to make conscious choices about all the herbs you use. If there are alternatives to at-risk plants such as goldenseal, make every effort to use them. Or if you have the right conditions, you can add such plants to your own woodland areas and grow your own.  I currently have four goldenseal plants in my own woodland garden. They are not very fussy or difficult to grow if you have a woodland area in full-shade. Outside of a plant killed by rodents digging it up during the winter, I've never lost a plant. You may buy your goldenseal plants from a number of sources - my favorite is Prairie Moon Nursery.

Herb of the Week - Trout Lily

Trout Lily, Erythronium americanum

Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum)

Trout lilies are one of the "spring ephemerals" - wildflowers that do all their living for an entire year in a few short weeks each spring before vanishing beneath the soil until the next year. The ephemerals group include some of the most eagerly anticipated blooming plants that I know of - trillium, bloodroot, spring beauty, hepatica, and more. The trout lily certainly holds it own in this illustrious group.

This beautiful little plant is native to the woodlands of Eastern North America. It has yellow, almost violet-like flowers and distinctively spotted leaves. These physical characteristics have inspired quite a number of common names such as: adder's tongue, dog tooth violet, serpent's tongue, and yellow snowdrop. I so love the "color" of common names!

Trout lilies are rarely sighted as single plants. If happy in their location, these plants will spread to form a colony on the forest floor. Even without the pretty flowers, a carpet of their spotted leaves is a beautiful spring-time sight.

The trout lily is edible - both the corms and the young leaves can be boiled and eaten. (Source: Peterson's Edible Wild Plants) And both the bulbs and leaves have been used medicinally as an emetic, emollient, and antiscorbutic (when fresh) and a nutritive when dry. It is also said that the root and leaves simmered in milk could be used in remedies for dropsy, hiccoughs, vomiting, and bleeding from the lower bowels while the plant boiled in oil was used for wounds and to reduce inflammation. (Source: Indian Herbology of North America by A. Hutchens) See the PFAF.org entry for more information on the plant's uses.

But with other foods and remedies more commonly available, why would you want to pick this beauty for food or medicine? Like many wildflowers, the trout lily does not reproduce quickly. It can take up to 8 years to mature from seed. Loss of habitat along with irresponsible picking or harvesting can decimate such wild plants. If you do have a woodland area or garden, be sure to invite this plant into it. If you are a wildcrafter or a forager, appreciate this plant for how it has been used but please pass it by. Take only photos and memories from it to ensure it will remain for future generations.

May Flowers, Herbs, and Trees

May is always a time of abundant life and plants to me. It is the time when the forests become a verdant green and when wildflowers continue their spring show. It is also a busy time of gardening and planting for the coming season. To celebrate this greening of the world and the start of the new agricultural season, I take May 1st off of work. It is a 20-year old tradition. Often I spend the day in my gardens, but sometimes I take hikes or do other activities to celebrate May Day. 

In that spirit of celebrating the Earth and her greening cloak, it was my pleasure to attend not one but two plant hikes over this past weekend. The first of these hikes was led by Dr. Les Moore on Saturday May 5, 2012. It was held in Phelps, NY along the Ontario Pathways Trail System. This hike focused on identification as well as the medicinal properties of the wild plants found. This hike is also part of a series of classes Dr. Moore teaches on medical herbalism. If you are interested in learning more about these classes, please see the Classical Formulas website. I created the video at the bottom of this article from the photos I took on that hike.

The second hike was at Ganondagan and it was led by Tonia Loran-Galban and Peter Jemison on Sunday May 6, 2012. This hike was along the Earth is Our Mother trail and it focused on the medicinal as well as the ethnobotanical uses of the plants along the trail. It was a beautiful day for a hike - made even more special by the abundance of the migrating red admiral butterflies. You can see the slideshow from this walk on the Plant Hike slideshow webpage.

I hope you enjoy the slideshow and video. I wish for your May to be happy and abundantly green!

Spring Wildflowers - Solomon's Seal

Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)

Soon the blooms on my Solomon's Seal will open. The bell-like flowers, which are cream/light-green, hang on the underside of the plant's arching stem. This is a beautiful native plant to add to any woodland garden.

As an herbalist and lover of plants, I prefer the botanical name for a plant. There is no confusion as to what plant you are referring to. But I admit to dearly loving the colorful common names. This is a perfect example. It is thought that the name "solomon's seal" is in reference to the seal-like scars on the plant's roots which to some look like the "seal of Solomon." For more on this plant's colorful name you can refer to this site.

Herb of the Week - Galium

Herb of the Week - Galium

Cleavers, Galium aparine

"Galium? What kind of herb is galium?" you say. Well, galium isn't just one herb. It is a whole group of herbs or rather a whole genus of plants. Rather than just picking out one of the herbs in that group, I'll cover a couple in that group since they all make me think of spring.

I have three galiums growing at my place right now:

• Cleavers, Galium aparine
• Northern Bedstraw, Galium boreale
• Sweet Woodruff, Galium odoratum

Cleavers (Galium aparine)

Cleavers. Wow, what can I say? It is a very prolific weed at my house. Yes, I said "weed." Ok, it's an herb too. But since I can pick it by the bushel-full out of every flower garden I have, it is a weed as well as an herb in my book. Herb-wise it is often used for its diuretic properties. I know more than one "pee tea" that includes this herb into its mix. Like many herbs, cleavers have a long list of herbal medicine uses beyond its use as a diuretic. Read more about the herbal medicine uses here.

In the days before frappuccinos, our coffee-loving ancestors tried to turn everything into a flavorful beverage. Sometimes they succeeded. Cleavers seed can be roasted and brewed for an excellent coffee substitute. Cleavers are reported to be edible, though I would think that I would find the prickly nature of them quite unpalatable.

Northern Bed Straw (Galium boreale)

Northern Bedstraw, Galium boreale

While northern bedstraw blooms much later in the year here, it sprouts and grows very well in the spring time. Though it looks quite a bit like a smaller, darker green version of its very aggressive cousin cleavers, bedstraw is a kinder and more polite plant. It doesn't sprawl through every garden. It grows in small clumps or patches. Bedstraw, both the plant and the seeds, don't "velcro" onto your clothes or pets' fur like cleavers do. Personal experience here - picking cleaver seed out of either is no fun! Cleavers have inconspicuous flowers but not so with northern bedstraw. Mid to late summer it gets airy clouds of tiny white blooms which are very pretty in a fairy garden sort of way.

In an herbal-sense it can be used for a number of medicinal and utilitarian purposes though not as many as its clingy cousin. Northern bedstraw is reported to be edible as well. See here for the list its uses and edibility.

Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)

Sweet woodruff is a well-known and pretty spring bloomer. If you have a shady location that you want filled with a herbaceous groundcover, sweet woodruff is a good plant to consider. Though take care it is not a woodland you are introducing it to. This plant is native to Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, not North America. Introduced, alien plants can be a problem unless controlled. I have a fir tree in our yard underplanted with sweet woodruff. It keeps to the ring of shade that the tree provides and is completely controllable that way.

Sweet Woodruff, Galium odoratum

One of the common names of this plant is said to be "master of the woods" which is a translation from the German name, Waldmeister. [Source] Whether that name is in reference to its ability to spread wildly through a woodland or that the Germans used it to flavor all manner of things from wine (the famous Maiwein or "May Wine") to beer to sausages and more, I'm not sure. Perhaps, the name is in reference to both! I have had May Wine. It is very tasty white wine and a perfect way to celebrate the coming of Spring and May Day.

Sweet woodruff also has a number of medicinal uses but care must be taken in using it since the plant contains coumarins which can interact with various medications and health conditions. It can also be used for dyes and strewing. Read more here about this herb's uses.

Wild Strawberries in Bloom

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana

The inches of snow that fell this week did little to stop the march of Spring. The wild strawberries here, as well as my cultivated varieties, are in full bloom. Wild strawberry plants and flowers - as well as the very fine fruit are quite diminutive compared to the cultivated varieties. But fruit? Pure ambrosia. Even the best cultivated varieties pale in comparison.

Here are a few of the wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) blooming here at this time. Be sure to note the flowers are nearly the same height as the leaves. This is one of the identifying characteristics of the more common wild strawberry or Virginia Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana. The other wild strawberry species that is also native throughout much of the United States and Canada is the Woodland Strawberry,  Fragaria vesca. The flowers of that species are held much higher above the leaves. The fruits of both species also have other identifying characteristics - but those pictures will have to come later! Enjoy these pictures of spring!

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana

 

Don't know how to identify wild strawberries at all? 

The short video included below will show you the key characteristics to look for. They are probably growing closer than you thought!

Spring Snows

Snow and ice covered crabapple

A month ago when we experienced a week of unusual warmth (70's & 80's), many cheered. I didn't. Don't get me wrong - the warmth and sun were enjoyable. But I feared what the unseasonable warmth would do. That sort of warmth would awaken plants far too early if cold and snow were yet to come to Western New York State. And experience said it would.

We had inches of heavy, wet snow fall over night and into today. Schools closed. Some lost power. And certainly the fruit producers of this region groaned a little more as they saw more unfavorable conditions when many fruit trees and strawberries are in full bloom. Cold temperatures damaging plants and blooms not to mention keeping the pollinators away.

I know I'm not expecting much from my strawberries that were all in bloom. Maybe the few everbearers I have since they'll push more blooms, but not the June-bearers. I guess we'll just have to see what we can see.

Included with this article are two pictures I snapped of two of my trees in flower, covered in snow. These are pretty pictures. But what I didn't include pictures of are the trees, bushes, and green plants bent or broken under the weight of the snow. I'll have to see how they look when the snow melts.

"Cherry Ice" - kwanzan cherry blooms under snow

Herb of the Week - Dandelion

Dandelion Flower

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Few things herald the coming of spring more than the dandelion. While those wishing their lawns to be a monoculture of green revile it, I cheer its arrival. The bright yellow of their blooms is a welcome sight after the long drab months of winter.

Our ancestors cheered it as well. That is why the dandelion traveled to all the corners of the globe with them. It is a hardy and robust plant - ask those that try to remove it from their lawns. But more than that, it was a plant of great nutrition and medicine sprouting up in the Spring when it was most needed for the cupboards had gotten quite bare in the long, cold winter.

Dandelion leaves have a host of vitamins and minerals including: Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Copper, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Potassium and Manganese. [Source]

More than just nutritious, the dandelion offers us a number of pleasing beverages. The roots can be roasted and ground for a fine coffee substitute - with no caffeine! The flowers, roots, and leaves can be used to make a pleasing tea. But probably the most famous beverage is dandelion wine made from the flowers. The wine recipe is quite simple. But speaking from personal experience, it is a hard one to master!

Dandelion Leaves & Buds

Dandelion, the root especially, is commonly used in a variety of herbal remedies. Two of its most well known uses are as a cholagogue and as a diuretic. For more on the traditional medicinal uses of dandelion please see the Plants For a Future or the Modern Herbal entries on dandelion.

The plant also has provided great amusement for untold generations of children of all ages - who can resist scattering the seeds of the dandelion blow ball when the plant has gone to seed? I seem to also recall having read a long time ago in a book of old-timey amusements that the hollow stem dipped into soapy water could be used to blow bubbles. I think I'll pass on that one. The bitter sap would be a definite turn-off!

Finally one thought to leave you with, the history behind the name "dandelion." It is from the French phrase, dent-de-lion, meaning "lion's tooth" - which is certainly in reference to the toothed leaves. Our springtime friend the dandelion has not only the ruffled yellow mane of the lion, it has its teeth as well!