Many cultures consider Dandelions good luck or a symbol of success. The seed-heads are particularly linked to good luck since they are often blown while making a wish.
Dandelions, often considered a pesky weed, hold a deeper meaning that goes beyond their bright yellow appearance. These resilient flowers have enchanted people for centuries with their symbolic representations of hope, perseverance, and transformation.
Because many dandelions find a good growing location in lawn areas, wind gusts often disperse the seed parachutes throughout the area. The umbrella hairs lift the seed from the head and float along the breeze. The extremely lightweight seed can float as far as the wind allows.
Each seed is attached to a characteristic fuzzy structure called a 'pappus' that allows the seed to be carried by the wind.
Dandelions have a highly-evolved pappus – a parachute-like bristle of hairs attached to its fruit by a thin stalk. The slightest breath or puff of wind will send this apparatus flying.
In addition to granting wishes, many people believe that dandelion seeds will carry your thoughts and dreams to loved ones when you blow them into the air. It's been said that if you can blow all the seeds off a dandelion with a single breath, then the person you love will love you back.
Compositae). The common dandelion is well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of many silver-tufted fruits that disperse in the wind. These balls are called "clocks" in both British and American English. The name "blowball" is also used. Taraxacum officinale.
And, as many a child discovers to their delight, when a dandelion sets seed, the flower (actually, hundreds of tiny florets) turns into a mass of seeds known as a dandelion clock. Each seed is suspended from a parachute-like stalk — easily released by a puff of breath.
Once pollination by bees or other insects has taken place, each fertilized floret produces a seed called an achene. Each seed pushes up through the floret and develops a feathery filament called a pappus. When viewed collectively on the dandelion's seed head, the filaments look like a white puff ball.
Legend has it that, if you can blow all the seeds off a dandelion with a single breath, then the person you love will love you back. If seeds remain, then the object of your affection may have reservations about their feelings toward you. Still others believe dandelions may help you tell the time or even the weather.
Petunia. Petunias are colorful flowers that have been associated with hope, healing, and well-being for a long time.
Dandelion leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, and the flower buds, petals, and roots can all be used in various ways.
The leaves are used to stimulate the appetite and help digestion. Dandelion flower has antioxidant properties. Dandelion may also help improve the immune system. Herbalists use dandelion root to detoxify the liver and gallbladder, and dandelion leaves to help kidney function.
Dandelions bring prosperity and good luck
Even adults wish while blowing on a dandelion because it is believed to attract good fortune and that spreading the seeds in one blow brings good luck and the wish will come true.
A natural cotton harvested from dandelions.
Salsify looks like a dandelion on steroids. The flower itself looks like a yellow daisy. The seed heads look like a big puffball, up to several inches in diameter. The numerous seeds float away in the wind, just like dandelion seeds.
Where did we get the idea of making a wish on dandelions? The story goes, if you blew all of the seeds of a dandelion at once, the person you loved would love you back. Each time you wish upon a dandelion you are sending anywhere from 54-172 seeds into the air.
Featuring a simple Dandelion design, this charm holds subtle meaning as the humble Dandelion is a symbol of happiness and strength, making a beautiful, thoughtful gift for someone special.
The word dandelion comes from a phrase that means “the lion's teeth.” Can you guess how the dandelion got this name? People started calling them this because God made the dandelion with leaves that look like the sharp teeth of a lion.
O dandelion, rich and haughty, King of village flowers! Each day is coronation time, You have no humble hours. I like to see you bring a troop To beat the blue-grass spears, To scorn the lawn-mower that would be Like fate's triumphant shears. Your yellow heads are cut away, It seems your reign is o'er.
An old name for Dandelion is Fairy Clocks and it's traditional to make a wish when blowing seeds from a 'Fairy Clock'. It's said that the flying seeds become fairies and carry your wishes.
The tanpopo grows all over Japan too, and is a symbol representing courage as they can grow virtually anywhere. Although some people in Japan consider it a weed, many people like to use the tanpopo in cooking.
Dandelions have been called lion's-tooth, cankerwort, Irish daisy, monk's-head, priest's-crown, puffball, blowball, and milk-, witch-, or yellow-gowan (3).