COLUMBUS, Ohio – After decades of thinning out thanks to a variety of herbicides, the dreaded dandelion is making a comeback.

“As farmers prepare their fields for planting, chances are they’ll meet up with dandelions,” said Mark Loux, a weed specialist with The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “This resurgence of dandelions has been occurring over the last couple of years. Dandelions can create deep, strong roots, and they’re extremely adaptable to herbicides, making them tough to get rid of. It doesn’t matter which herbicide you use, you can’t just beat it over the head if you let it go for a few years.”

For gardeners, dandelions and weeds in general are a nuisance. For a farmer, weeds can affect profits, reducing yields by competing with crops for water, nutrients and sunlight. In Ohio, farmers’ most troublesome weeds are marestail, waterhemp, Palmer amaranth, giant ragweed and common ragweed.

“We only have tough weeds left and they keep adapting,” Loux said. “Now add the dandelions. If dandelions are allowed to grow for too long, even effective herbicides will kill only the small plants and the rest will survive.”

Farmers and gardeners may despise dandelions, but botanists consider dandelions to be herbs. People use the leaves, stem, flower and root of the dandelion for medicinal purposes.

In her book, “The Teeth of the Lion,” author and researcher Anita Sanchez writes about the benefits of the beloved yet despised dandelion. Her research on the weed is indepth and scientific.

“Whether you love them or hate them, dandelions are among the most familiar in the world,” Sanchez said. “Dandelions are, quite possibly, the most successful plants that exist, masters of survival worldwide. But nowadays, they’re the most unpopular plant in the neighborhood. Only in the 12th century did humans decide that the dandelion was a weed. Before the invention of lawns, the golden blossoms and lion-toothed leaves were more likely to be praised as a bounty of food, medicine and magic.”

According to Sanchez, data from the USDA reveals how dandelions have helped alleviate many ailments, have more vitamin A than spinach, more vitamin C than tomatoes, and are loaded with iron, calcium and potassium.

“Dandelions are more nutritious than most of the vegetables in one’s garden,” she said. “They were named after lions because their lion-toothed leaves healed so many ailments, baldness, toothache, sores, fevers, rotting gums, weakness, lethargy and depression.”

Sanchez’s studies indicate the dandelions likely arrived in North America on the Mayflower, brought over by Pilgrims on purpose for their medicinal benefits.

“Dandelions were world famous for their beauty,” Sanchez said. “Dandelions were a common and beloved garden flower in Europe, and the subject of many poems.”

 Yes, this weed that is so despised by gardeners and farmers everywhere is considered a green and growing first aid kit. For centuries, dandelion toxins have been used to help the liver remove toxins from the bloodstream. In olden times, dandelions were prescribed for every ailment from warts to the plague.

Today, herbalists hail the dandelion as the perfect plant medicine. The plant is highly nutritious and contains potent antioxidants. Some in the medical field say it may help fight inflammation, aid in blood sugar control and can help reduce cholesterol. Dandelion greens are used in salads. The weed’s yellow head is very versatile and is used to cook things such as dandelion fritters. The dandelion root can be turned into coffee or tea. The flower itself can be turned into dandelion wine, dandelion jelly or dandelion soup.

Though the colorful weed has benefits, gardeners and farmers see them as pests that must be destroyed.

“Clearing dandelions from a field usually requires three weed killer applications, one each during the spring, summer and fall seasons,” Loux said. “Apply weed killer during late April or early May, unless extended rain is in the forecast. After putting seeds in the ground, farmers should wait around four to six weeks before applying another round of weed killer.”