A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger

Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident 

This aging dandelion head at the edge of the forest gleamed like a thousand points of light. The dandelion is everybody’s first flower. Is there anybody in America who had a mother that didn’t give a bouquet of dandelions to her, received as though they were rare and fragile orchids? 

Later our opinion changes. The dandelion degenerates from flower to weed, the curse of suburbanites yearning for the perfect lawn. Yet forest dwellers know them as an herb, a bitter leaf of high nutritional and medicinal value. Unlike some plants, they are even healthy for dogs, improving canine digestion. 

There is nothing biological to the terms “flower,” “weed,” or “herb.” A dandelion can be called any of these, depending on the eye of the beholder and the role the dandelion has in the beholder’s world. One thing it is not, however, is an invasive plant. 

Invasive plants displace natives, creating a monoculture of their own species. They deplete the soil and reduce plant diversity, which in turn limits the ability of an area to support a diversity of food for animals. 

Dandelions do none of these things. Dandelions are technically natives of Eurasia. Their light, fuzzy seeds are so easily carried through air that they have made homes almost everywhere. They aerate the earth, making growth easier for other plants. They reduce erosion. Their deep roots mine minerals, bringing them closer to the surface and available to other plants. 

They appear in early spring, which is also the best time to gather them for food, as the earlier in their growing season, the less bitter the leaves. Larger leaves that grow upward will be less bitter than those that grow horizontally. Shaded plants will also be more palatable, as sunlight stimulates growth, which increases bitterness. 

A dandelion may look out of place on a putting green, but is at home and welcome in the forest. A plant that increases diversity and makes its neighbors healthier should not be mistaken for an invader. To do so discredits the observer, not the plant.