Botanical name: Taraxacum officinale
Parts used: flowers, stems, leaves and roots
Description: a rosette of rough-toothed leaves from a single taproot. A ‘true dandelion’ produces yellow flowers each of which sit on a single hollow stem, and that helps to identify it from lookalikes hawksbeard (Crepis species) and flatweed or catsear (Hypochaeris species), which have multiple flowers shooting from solid stems.
Nutrients: vitamins – A, B6, E, K, thiamine; antioxidants; flavonoids; alpha- and beta-carotene; minerals – high in iron and calcium, and contains magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper, choline and boron.