Dandelion
a common perennial herb of the composite family. From the toothed appearance of the leaves, the French gave it the name dent de lion, whence our name. It appears to grow wild over Asia and Europe. It came to this country with garden seeds, yet seems to be a native of the Rocky Mountains. Children make garlands of its blossoms; the wind makes playthings of its seed; the housewife uses its leaves for greens; the farmer execrates it in his meadows; people who move into a new country long for its face; and the poet--each person looking at the dandelion in his own way--says:
Dear common flower, that grow'st beside the way,
Fringing the dusty road with harmless gold,
First pledge of blithesome May,
Which children pluck, and, full of pride uphold,
High hearted buccaneers, o'erjoyed that they
An Eldorado in the grass have found,
Which not the rich earth's ample round
May match in wealth, thou art more dear to me
Than all the prouder summer-blooms may be.
--Lowell, To the Dandelion.
First pledge of blithesome May,
Which children pluck, and, full of pride uphold,
High hearted buccaneers, o'erjoyed that they
An Eldorado in the grass have found,
Which not the rich earth's ample round
May match in wealth, thou art more dear to me
Than all the prouder summer-blooms may be.
--Lowell, To the Dandelion.
Volume II · Aiton’s Encyclopedia