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All About Dandelions

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Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. The common name dandelion is derived from the French phrase dent de lion – lion’s tooth, referring to the deeply serrated leaves of some species, including the one we most commonly see – Taraxacum officinale. For thousands of years, different cultures have used this plant as a nutritional food source or for medicinal purposes. It’s a strong diuretic which gives rise to the name wet-a-bed. After the seeds are set, the blossom turns into a white puff ball with wind-catching structures for dispersal called pappus.  When I was little, we called dandelion seed head “tell times.” Our parents said if we blew them, counting the number of seeds left attached would tell us the time. I must say, it was a pretty unreliable time piece but still fun. Dandelions are here to stay, we might as well try to find ways to enjoy them.

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Amanda McNulty is a Clemson University Extension Horticulture agent and the host of South Carolina ETV’s Making It Grow! gardening program. She studied horticulture at Clemson University as a non-traditional student. “I’m so fortunate that my early attempts at getting a degree got side tracked as I’m a lot better at getting dirty in the garden than practicing diplomacy!” McNulty also studied at South Carolina State University and earned a graduate degree in teaching there.