# We'd no idea about its history



## Venusian Broon (Jun 11, 2019)

I found this fascinating:


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## The Judge (Jun 11, 2019)

Its use as a medicine and foraging crop is well known to anyone interested in herbs and herbalism, but I didn't know they've tried to make rubber out of it!

In case anyone was thinking of trying it, it's young leaves you want to eat -- old ones can be very bitter.  And as he mentioned it's a powerful diuretic, especially the stem sap.  A folkname for it is piss-in-bed, and its name in French isn't dent-de-lion, but pissenlit!


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## Venusian Broon (Jun 11, 2019)

The Judge said:


> Its use as a medicine and foraging crop is well known to anyone interested in herbs and herbalism, but I didn't know they've tried to make rubber out of it!
> 
> In case anyone was thinking of trying it, it's young leaves you want to eat -- old ones can be very bitter.  And as he mentioned it's a powerful diuretic, especially the stem sap.  A folkname for it is piss-in-bed, and its name in French isn't dent-de-lion, but pissenlit!



I liked that the Chinese called the root system of the Dandelion an 'Earth nail'. Nice little detail.


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## Dave (Jun 11, 2019)

The Romans used Daisies as medicine. Surgeons accompanying Roman legions into battle ordered slaves to pick daisies, extracting their juice. I would guess it was applied to wounds as an antiseptic.


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