All about dandelion! Plus exciting announcements.
Links & resources from this episode
- Ukraine Herbal Solidarity Crowdfunder
- Prisoner’s Herbal Book
- La Herbolaria de lxs Presxs – Ediciones en Español
Find them all at solidarityapothecary.org/podcast/
Music from Sole & DJ Pain – Battle of Humans | Plant illustrations by @amani_writes | In solidarity, please subscribe, rate & review this podcast wherever you listen.
Transcript
Welcome to the Frontline Herbalism podcast with your host Nicole Rose
Speaker:from the Solidarity Apothecary.
Speaker:This is your place for all things plants and liberation.
Speaker:Let's get started.
Speaker:Hey everyone, welcome back.
Speaker:I'm sorry.
Speaker:In the last episode I said I would be back next week, but it's been a
Speaker:little bit longer than that, and I think it was because of recording that
Speaker:podcast about Taylor dying and then being in a big grief hole basically.
Speaker:I'm sure everyone listening to this has probably lost someone close to them that
Speaker:they love and they'll know how painful and difficult it is and how it just
Speaker:kind of like sucks the life out of you.
Speaker:So anyway, I'm feeling a bit better now.
Speaker:I've had a very, very busy week drove to Paris in France to drop off
Speaker:a van load of supplies for Ukraine.
Speaker:These are medicines made for the Ukraine Herbal Solidarity Project.
Speaker:We've got, I made like a thousand immune tonics, which is like this
Speaker:really delicious mix of echinacea and elderberry tinctures with turmeric,
Speaker:ginger, and thyme glycerites.
Speaker:And it's just like the perfect quality in terms of like being
Speaker:very soothing and supporting.
Speaker:So yeah, I was very happy to get those off as well as a bunch of other medicines.
Speaker:And I got to do some, anarcho tourist things.
Speaker:Visited the grave of Nestor Makhno, who was a Ukrainian anarchist.
Speaker:Who, Yeah, I'm not.
Speaker:I could totally do a whole episode about Nestor Makhno, but I'm not
Speaker:gonna, I did a little Instagram post this morning so you can read a bit
Speaker:more about him if you're interested.
Speaker:So this is like the official podcast that I'm gonna kind of
Speaker:launch with, if that makes sense.
Speaker:But I strongly, strongly encourage you to go back to the beginning and
Speaker:listen to the very first podcast where I kind of communicate some of
Speaker:the aims and the goals of the show.
Speaker:So just like a brief introduction, it's for people who love plants, who care about
Speaker:liberation, who are working for animal human earth liberation in all different
Speaker:ways across the world, who find their kind of strength in plants and plant medicines.
Speaker:So there's gonna be like a real mix of content.
Speaker:There will be interviews with people doing like amazing herbal projects and medical
Speaker:projects and growing projects, and you know, organizing in different struggles.
Speaker:And then there's also gonna be like practical content about
Speaker:plants and everything in between.
Speaker:So this episode to date, I'm gonna be talking about dandelion.
Speaker:So Dandelion is one of my all time favorite plants and it is the first herb
Speaker:featured in the prison's herbal book.
Speaker:So, like I explain in the first episode, the kind of first run of
Speaker:episodes of this show is just gonna be the kind of chapters from that book.
Speaker:Because a lot of people have asked me for like an audio version of it
Speaker:and it just kind of gives me a bit of a buffer to launch this, get it
Speaker:out in the world, and then kind of schedule interviews in for next year.
Speaker:And yeah, talking of the prisoners herbal last week we launched the
Speaker:Spanish editions Spanish in air quotes.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:So I'm gonna put a link in the show notes so you can read all about it.
Speaker:But basically two companerxs like translated the book into Spanish.
Speaker:So we've got one for like the Spanish state you know, like
Speaker:Catalyuna, the Basque country in Spain which was translated by Jorge.
Speaker:And then we have one translated by Heather Anne, which is for people in Mexico
Speaker:and across Central and South America.
Speaker:We're calling that the Abya Yala Edition which is the name used by millions of
Speaker:Indigenous peoples across the continents.
Speaker:And yeah, I just like, I cannot say thank you enough for their, like, incredible
Speaker:work on this book and how much energy they've invested in making it happen.
Speaker:I'm really, really moved by it.
Speaker:And yeah, I just totally cried when I saw the first picture of the books
Speaker:coming out of the printers in Mexico.
Speaker:So I'm gonna do like a whole other show, like specifically
Speaker:about the book, why we've done it.
Speaker:I'm gonna try and interview them.
Speaker:Gonna talk about the prison system in Mexico and also the
Speaker:ICE detention in the US as well as prisons in the Spanish state.
Speaker:So, yeah.
Speaker:Bare with me.
Speaker:I know I keep promising episodes.
Speaker:And I am gonna definitely do one about Ukraine soon.
Speaker:But yeah, I will put the link in the show notes and on the page there's like,
Speaker:it's all been translated into Spanish as well, the actual page about the book.
Speaker:So there's like info there on how to request free copies for prisoners.
Speaker:And where to order it, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And I will also put a link in the show notes about Ukraine herbal solidarity,
Speaker:because of like my summer being quite knocked sideways with Taylor dying.
Speaker:Like I haven't been kind of like on it, if that makes sense.
Speaker:In terms of like fundraising.
Speaker:And we're really like, we're pretty much out of funds.
Speaker:I had to kind of go into debt to get this last bunch of medicines together
Speaker:with the trust that support will come in.
Speaker:So, yeah, I think, yeah, I just wanted to emphasize that like even though
Speaker:the news channels have moved on and like, you know, different things are
Speaker:like flavor of the week, right, of social issues that get attention.
Speaker:But you know, the invasion is still raging on, there's huge amounts of violence.
Speaker:There's, you know, thousands of people fleeing and yeah, we really want to
Speaker:have like, a space where we can support people with medicines from their lands
Speaker:and their herbal traditions, which is extremely vibrant in Ukraine and have
Speaker:herbs for emotional stress and trauma and sleep support and immune support.
Speaker:Obviously, lots of people are getting covid and chest infections in the winter.
Speaker:So, yeah, it's just like an absolute horror show.
Speaker:And I'm gonna yeah, try and do an episode on it soon with, you know, which will be
Speaker:a bit more like in depth about the project and its role and the impact we've had,
Speaker:like meeting people at the clinic and how the medicines have like supported them.
Speaker:And yeah, so that's gonna come soon, but for now, I'm gonna leave it there
Speaker:and I hope you enjoy hearing about Dandelion, cuz they're absolutely
Speaker:amazing and definitely now is the time to be harvesting their roots.
Speaker:Okay, Take care.
Speaker:Thanks.
Speaker:All right, Dandelion De.
Speaker:One of my all time favorite plants and yes, you are right.
Speaker:I will start every single section with that statement.
Speaker:Okay, so Latin name Taraxacum officinale.
Speaker:Plant family is the Daisy family, the as Asteraceae family.
Speaker:In terms of identification, dandelions generally don't need an introduction.
Speaker:Most folks will recognize the yellow flowers and toothed leaves.
Speaker:However, dandelion can be easily mistaken for Cat's Ear
Speaker:also known as False Dandelion.
Speaker:You can tell the difference because Cat's Ear stems are solid, unlike
Speaker:dandelions, and the leaves are more hairy and deeply loabed there are
Speaker:more than 200 species of dandelion.
Speaker:All are useful.
Speaker:Other common species are, and I'm sorry, I'm gonna butcher these Latin names.
Speaker:Taraxacum magellanicum, Taraxacum mongolicum, and Leontodon taraxacum.
Speaker:Folk names in English include Lion’s tooth, Piss-in-bed, blow ball,
Speaker:tell-time, clock flower, bitterwort, Irish daisy, puff ball, wild endive.
Speaker:In Somerset, which is where I live, dandelion has also
Speaker:been called a fluffy Puffy.
Speaker:Taraxacum is derived from the Greek taraxos meaning disorder
Speaker:and akos meaning remedy.
Speaker:In French, dandelion is Dent de Lion, or teeth of a lion.
Speaker:It's glorious yellow flowers, reminds us of the sun.
Speaker:In terms of Astro herbology the herb can be associated with Leo
Speaker:the Lion, Jupiter, and the sun.
Speaker:In Chinese, the translated name reads as yellow flowered earth nail, which
Speaker:I think is really beautiful and I'm sure there's 1,000,001 other folk
Speaker:names for dandelion around the world.
Speaker:Food and nutrition.
Speaker:Dandelion has a bitter taste, but it's leaves are delicious and nutritious
Speaker:and can be eaten year round, though it tastes nicer when young in spring.
Speaker:Dandelion flowers can also be eaten year round.
Speaker:The roots are also quite delicious.
Speaker:Fried up the plant is high in iron, manganese, phosphorus, protein, sodium,
Speaker:and vitamin A in the form of carotenes.
Nicole:The roots are also an excellent source of inulin.
Nicole:The roots can be stir fried, added to soup made into dips,
Nicole:cooked with potatoes and more.
Nicole:It's rich minerals are often extracted into vinegars, which can then be added
Nicole:to foods such as salad dressings.
Nicole:It's well known for dandelion coffee to be made from its roasted roots.
Nicole:In the north of England, the traditional drink of dandelion
Nicole:and burdock is still made.
Nicole:Dandelion flowers have also been used to make beers and wines.
Nicole:Ecological role.
Nicole:Dandelion is an all season bee food, bumble bees, solitary bees, and honey
Nicole:bees all visit dandelions for food, along with hover flies, beetles and butterflies.
Nicole:They're usually eaten by many animals, especially rabbits In terms
Nicole:of soil, dandelions can often indicate compaction, which their roots can be
Nicole:often trying to address through creating more passageways for air and water.
Nicole:Any herbal textbook will write down, will write how dandelions are said to originate
Nicole:from Eurasia but have spread worldwide through human movement and colonization.
Nicole:However, indigenous scholar, Valerie Goodness, who is of Tsalagi
Nicole:and Ojibwe heritage, writes how stories about dandelions have been
Nicole:told by native peoples of Turtle Island for thousands of years.
Nicole:And I'm only sorry if I've pronounced her name wrong.
Nicole:As part of decolonizing our Plant Knowledge, it's important to note
Nicole:how certain stories about plants get reproduced because traditional
Nicole:ecological knowledge is so unvalued in settler colonialism.
Nicole:Chemical constituents.
Leaf:Vitamin A, B, C and D, Sesquiterpene lactones, Triterpenes
Leaf:Coumarins, Carotenoids, Minerals especially potassium, Flavonoids.
The root:Bitter taraxacin Monohydric acids taraxasterol and homotaraxastero.
The root:Does that sound erotic?
The root:Sounds erotic to me.
The root:Fatty acids, sugars and inulin.
The root:Energetics taste, the leaf tastes bitter.
The root:When you first eat wild plants, it might feel more of a shock,
The root:but once you're seasoned to eating wild greens, you realize dandelions
The root:actually taste quite mild.
The root:You can also reduce the bitter taste by blanching.
The root:The root is bitter and sweet.
The root:The temperature is cold.
The root:Moisture, so it's moist, and the tissue states indicated are hot
The root:excitation and damp stagnation.
The root:In terms of herbal actions, this will be fun for my dyslexia to read all of
The root:these out, but I'm gonna do my best.
The root:The leaf is alterative, anodyne, antiacid, antioxidant.
The root:Aperient, astringent, bitter, decongestant, dipurative.
The root:Digestive diuretic, febrifuge, galactogogue, hypertensive,
The root:Immune stimulant, laxative, lithotriptic, nutritive, restorative.
The root:Stomachic, tonic and vulnerary.
The root:Phew!
The root:And yeah, I will do another episode at some point soon about different
The root:herbal actions so that some of these words make a bit more sense.
The root:If anyone's got a copy of the Prisoner's Herbal you'll see there's
The root:like a glossary in the back of the book explaining each of these words.
The root:Okay.
The root:Root Alterative, anodyne, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory.
The root:Anti-rheumatic, aperient, astringent, bitter, cholagogue, decongestant,
The root:deobsturient, depurative, digestive.
The root:Diuretic, galactagogue, hepatic, hypnotic, immune stimulant, laxative
The root:lithotriptic, nutritive, purgative, sedative, stomachic, tonic.
The root:Woo!
The root:And the flower is anodyne, cardiotonic, emollient, hepatic, vulnerary.
The root:And the sap is anodyne, antifungal and discituient.
The root:And again, sorry for my pronunciation, it's just how I roll . Reading is
The root:actually quite difficult for me, like reading out loud, but I'm doing my best
The root:and this confident, and this podcast is a great way to kind of build my confidence.
The root:I'll probably look back and listen to episodes and just cringe anyway.
The root:Health challenges supported by dandelion.
The root:Supporting the digestive system.
The root:Dandelion is known as a bitter.
The root:Bitters are used in herbalism to aid digestion.
The root:Herbalist Julie and Matthew Seale describe how the bitter taste stimulates the
The root:secretion of digestive fluids, including some acid, bile and pancreatic juices.
The root:Dandelion promotes the appetite and is useful for those who have been
The root:ill or have lost their enthusiasm.
The root:Enthusiasm for food in advanced age.
The root:The dandelion can be taken before and after meals to aid digestion.
The root:It's useful for constipation, gas, and indigestion.
The root:Herbalist Mark Patterson describes how dandelion contains inland and
The root:mucilage which soothes the digestive tract, absorbs toxins from ingested
The root:food and regulates the colonies of intestinal bacteria, which produce
The root:toxins intended to kill other bacteria.
The root:That is, they help friendly flora and inhibit unfriendly bacteria.
The root:Recent research has also shown dandelion to be potentially useful for diabetes.
The root:Dandelion is a supreme ally for liver health.
The root:Herbalist Kamy McBride describes dandelion's actions
The root:on the liver really clearly.
The root:It stimulates the flow of bile which breaks down cholesterol and fat.
The root:Dandelion nurtures the liver in its assimilation and storage of vitamins,
The root:minerals, and sugars, improves blood, blood filtration to remove old cells
The root:and harmful bacteria, and helps maintain a healthy hormone balance.
The root:Liver health also plays an important role in regulating blood sugar
The root:and excreting accumulated waste.
The root:We are endowed with a liver that performs a thousand functions.
The root:It is just plain courteous to eat some herbs to reciprocate all
The root:the liver does to make us happy.
The root:That's a pretty nice analogy.
The root:I think it's support for the liver can be really useful for people during and
The root:in recovery from drug and alcohol use.
The root:Herbalist Alexis J Cunningfolk folks says that dandelion is especially useful when
The root:combined with other herbs that help clear environmental toxins such as yarrow.
The root:This includes being useful for people during and in recovery from
The root:cancer treatments as a diuretic.
The root:Despite being associated with bedwetting, dandelion actually strengthens the
The root:urinary system, and like many diuretics, any substance that promotes diuresis,
The root:that increase production of urine, which contribute to a loss of potassium,
The root:dandelion does not cause this imbalance because it is rich in potassium and can
The root:therefore be more safely used long-term.
The root:Its diuretic actions can support folks with swollen ankles, fluid
The root:retention, and high blood pressure.
The root:This action also supports the elderly with shortness of breath.
The root:Supporting muscles and joints.
The root:An infused oil of dandelion flowers can support muscle tension, as
The root:well as cold and stiff joints when applied topically on the skin.
The root:Dandelion also has the ability to aid the removal of uric acid
The root:from the body, making it good for treating gout and joint disease.
The root:It can therefore aid rheumatism, arthritis and other connective
The root:tissue conditions when inflammatory substances need to be moved.
The root:The bitter flavonoids in dandelion relieve muscle
The root:spasms and reduce inflammation.
The root:Supporting the skin.
The root:Dandelion sap in accessible quantity from inside the stems can be applied
The root:directly to warts, stings and blisters.
The root:Please note some folks may react to the latex in the sap.
The root:Premenstrual symptoms for folks who menstruate and who can
The root:often feel those feelings of extreme frustration, anger upset.
The root:Dandelion can really help you cool down.
The root:It can also help with water retention and release pelvic congestion.
The root:Eating a few dandelion flowers can also help relieve a headache.
The root:How to practically use dandelion in prison.
The root:Where you might find dandelion, dandelions are often found
The root:pushing through the concrete.
The root:Look for them next to the curbs or edges of paths and beds.
The root:They can also be found anywhere there is bare soil.
The root:They prefer the sun, so won't be hiding in damp corners the way that
The root:plants like nettles will, however you really can find them everywhere and
The root:often in the most unexpected places.
The root:Leaves and flowers.
The root:Nutrition, eat dandelion leaves and flowers as part of your meals
The root:for their nutritional benefits.
The root:You can add them to sandwiches and rolls or mix them in, in whatever.
The root:In with, with whatever stew, curry or sludge you've been served.
The root:Oh, I remember the prison sludge.
The root:Okay.
The root:Digestion, constipation, gas, et cetera.
The root:You can also eat dandelion leaves separately before or after your
The root:meals to help with digestion amongst other actions in your body.
The root:They will stimulate the secretion of bile meaning you can digest your food more
The root:easily and if you've been able to dry the leaves and making a leaf infusion with
The root:the dried leaves and drinking half to two cups a day, about 125 to 500 ml per day
The root:can really help with any digestive issues.
The root:Even if you do not struggle with digestive issues in a prison context, just that
The root:extra support for your liver in processing the chronic stress is really powerful.
The root:Likewise, prison food can take its toll on the body with huge
The root:amounts of oil use and so forth.
The root:Headaches eat a few dandelion flowers or leaves to help relieve a headache.
The root:Warts, stings and blisters, you can apply the sap directly
The root:by opening the dandelion stem.
The root:You'll see some nice gooey white stuff and applying it to wherever needed.
The root:Note that some people can react to the latex in the stem skin irritation, such as
The root:swollen and weepy rashes, eczema and acne.
The root:Add the leaves and or flowers in hot water, for example, in a cup or a bowl.
The root:Let them steep, release 10 minutes and then wash the irritated skin with
The root:the water from the cup of the bowl.
The root:Sprains and bruises.
The root:Make a strong tea from fresh or dried dandelion leaves,
The root:strain it and drink the liquid.
The root:Then apply the plant material directly on the skin as a poultice.
The root:You can also soak, makeshift bandages with dandelion tea and wrap around a sprained
The root:area period pains eat dandelion flowers and leaves, or add them to hot water
The root:as a tea to help relieve period pains.
The root:For general skin care and beauty.
The root:Steep the flower heads in water for an hour.
The root:Keep the bowl or cup covered and then strain, but keep both
The root:the water and the flowers.
The root:Lie down and put the warm, wet flowers on your face for 10 minutes, remove
The root:and rinse your face with the water.
The root:You can also leave the water on overnight for strong results.
The root:Natural toner!
The root:Roots.
The root:If you're able to access the roots.
The root:Liver support, if you can dry them.
The root:See my top tips on page 21, then half a cup to two and a half cups per day.
The root:About 125 to 500 ml per day of dried dandelion root infusion
The root:is a really powerful help for people with liver issues.
The root:Dandelions can help people having conventional treatment for hepatitis,
The root:jaundice, or those struggling with liver damage from excess drug or alcohol use.
The root:It can also help people having chemotherapy or in recovery from it.
The root:Dandelion is your friend.
The root:It feeds your liver, choline, carotenes mineral salt, and other nutrients
The root:it needs to aid in its restoration.
The root:Otherwise, fresh dandelion juice is also superb.
The root:Three to six table spoons per day.
The root:Making juice is obviously pretty hard without a juicer.
The root:However, in prison there are a couple of options.
The root:If you know anyone who works in the prison kitchen, who can access sharp
The root:knives or equipment, who can blend up the roots for you, this is ideal.
The root:If not, you can try soaking the roots and tearing them apart, bashing them
The root:against something, or chopping them up as much as you can with your cutlery
The root:and squeezing the juice to a piece of fabric, like a cloth or clean underwear,
The root:corner of a bedsheet or something.
The root:And I know most prison cutlery is plastic, so this would be a nightmare.
The root:But I definitely did it when I was inside.
The root:Rheumatic and arthritic joints.
The root:Try the juice above diluted in water.
The root:Drink it one to two times a day for eight weeks.
The root:Insomnia, a soothing, warm root infusion combined with a little bit of milk or soy
The root:milk if you have some, can help you sleep.
The root:Chronic chest pain, bronchitis, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.
The root:Dandelion root infusions can help nourish, soothe, and heal the mucus
The root:membranes in the lungs for people already having treatment for these conditions.
The root:You know, I just wanna emphasize those are very serious conditions
The root:that I wouldn't treat with dandelion.
The root:But it's more kind of like in the recovery stage, which I probably
The root:should have edited into the book.
The root:Okay.
The root:High blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels.
The root:Dandelion root infusions can help to reduce these conditions.
The root:If you can access oil, I know on the HMP p canteen list, in some prisons, people
The root:are able to buy sunflower or olive oil.
The root:If you do have access to oil, it's possible to infuse dandelion flowers
The root:in the oil for two weeks or as long as you can before your cell gets searched.
The root:To do this, make sure you have a very clean jar.
The root:Fill as much as possible with the flowers.
The root:If flowers have been dried out slightly, this is even better.
The root:As it is super easy for oils to spoil because of too much water.
The root:Leave the flowers in there and then strain.
The root:After a week or two, you'll have a powerful infused oil that can
The root:be rubbed on your muscles for back ache and should detention or any
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