Every spring, the appearance of dandelions infuriates those who want to have an impeccable lawn on the border of their home. However, as our archives show, this hated plant appears to possess many surprising virtues.
A food and herbal medicine…
” It grows everywhere, invades our flower beds, and we treat them as a weed. And we don’t know what to do with it. A solution? Collect them to taste them. “
Did you know that there are 1500 species of dandelion in the world?
On June 14, 2006, journalist Andrée Langlois from the show The grocery store we are invited to explore the nutritional properties of this unloved plant.
Botanist Édith Smeesters introduced us to the many culinary properties of the dandelion.
It should be understood that dandelion belongs to the same family as chicory or lettuce. It is therefore a leafy vegetable that, like its relatives, is great in salads.
Dandelion greens are less bitter when picked before flowering.
They can be cooked to incorporate them into soups or quiches, for example.
For flower buds, they can be marinated to become capers.
Dandelion greens are very nutritious.
They contain, for equal weight, as much vitamin C as a lemon, more iron than spinach and almost twice as much vitamin A than a carrot.
Édith Smeesters also highlights the healing properties of the dandelion.
A decoction of the root of this plant is very diuretic and cleansing.
It is used primarily to remove excess water that is partly responsible for excess weight and to clean clogged liver and gall bladder.
Did you know that dandelion is also cultivated? This is particularly the case in Saint-Hyacinthe in Quebec.
The dandelion that gardeners exploit in the market is the result of crossbreeding, does not bloom and the leaves have a more subtle flavor than their wild counterparts.
… Who can contribute to the fight against global warming?
” It’s been a long time since we’ve recognized the benefits of the dandelion. To convince the opposite, you have to see this field in Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, in Center-du-Québec. “
On March 9, 2013, journalist Rachel Brillant and director Michel Dumontier offered us a report on green week which makes us see the dandelion in a completely new light.
Errol Duchaine hosts the show.
In Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Martin Trépanier, a researcher at Laval University, plants dandelions in a field.
But not just any dandelion. Martin Trépanier’s protégés were Russian dandelions.
The Russian dandelion has an interesting feature.
Its roots may contain up to 10% rubber latex.
Half of the rubber used is made of a plant called a rubber tree.
At that time, a disease was destroying rubber trees in the producing countries of Southeast Asia, which were resistant to many pesticides and pesticides.
The other half of rubber production is made using fossil fuels, especially oil. This synthetic oil is expensive and polluting.
During World War II, several countries, including the Soviet Union and Canada, cut off from the supply of natural rubber from Southeast Asia, turned to Russian dandelion to meet their rubber needs.
Martin Trépanier wants to bring back to market natural rubber made with the roots of this plant.
In addition to being a durable product, rubber made from Russian dandelion roots is more elastic, more resistant and less allergenic than synthetic rubber.
Some laboratories in the United States and Europe are also interested in Russian dandelion.
But in 2013, making rubber using this plant was more expensive than oil.
The idea is therefore somewhat abandoned.
However, in the context of the fight to reduce the use of fossil fuels and rising oil prices, rubber made from dandelion roots will find a buyer.
This is particularly the case of the aeronautical industry, which will again be interested in the characteristics of this plant.
Source: Radio-Canada
