Taraxacum officinale has a long history of use worldwide as an edible food and restorative tonic. Dandelion leaves can be eaten fresh in spring, and the long taproot is dug for its beneficial properties in the fall. Our organic dandelion leaf makes an excellent addition to herbal tea blends. Leaves can also be brewed as dandelion leaf tea, tinctured as dandelion extract, or added to soups. Dandelion was traditionally used in many systems of medicine to support digestive and gastrointestinal health.* Additionally, dandelion was traditionally used to support liver health, healthy urinary funtion and has mild diuretic action.* Dandelion is a sunny, subtle, yet incredible plant that has been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is mentioned in traditional Arabian medicine in the tenth century. It has been used for centuries in traditional medicine practices all over the world as a restorative tonic, edible food, and in herbal beers and wines. Dandelion bears a sun-yellow flower head (which is actually composed of hundreds of tiny flowers) typical of the Asteraceae family, that closes in the evening or during cloudy weather and opens back up in the morning, much like its cousin calendula. When the flower is closed, to some, it looks like a pig's nose, hence one of its names, 'swine's snout.' It is a perennial herb with deeply cut leaves that form a basal rosette, somewhat similar to another family member, the wild lettuce, and has a thick tap root which is dark brown on the outside and white on the inside. It is native to most of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, naturalized all over the world, and commonly found growing alongside roads and in lawns as a common weed.