The dandelion get its common name from the French descriptive phrase
dent de lion, which means “lion’s tooth” and is a reference to the
toothed edges of the plant’s leaves. This member of the sunflower family
is also known by several other interesting common names, including
swine's snout, clocks, blowballs and priest's crown. The plant’s genus
name has an equally interesting etymology that combines the Greek words
taraxos and akos, which respectively mean “disorder” and “remedy.”
Although the early herbals of the 16th century gave considerable space
to the virtues of dandelion flower and leaf, the root wasn’t described
or even illustrated until much later. In his Acetaria: A Discourse of
Sallets, the 17th century author John Evelyn was among the first to
describe Welsh cooks combining second year dandelion roots with the leaf
in salads. It wasn’t until the mid-19th century that roasted dandelion
root became known as a coffee substitute, a purpose for which is it
still used today.
