a common yellow wildflower with a puffy seed head that children blow to scatter the seeds, whose leaves are edible.
From French 'dent de lion,' meaning 'lion's tooth,' because the jagged leaves resemble a lion's teeth. The plant became known by this French name across English-speaking countries.
The dandelion's French name 'dent de lion' (lion's tooth) stuck around because it perfectly describes those jagged leaves! What most people see as a weed is actually incredibly nutritious—dandelion greens have more iron than spinach and were cultivated as a vegetable before being displaced by other crops.
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