Dandelion
Names: Dandelion, pissenlit, pissabed
For the longest time I thought these guys were called dandelions because they looked like 'dandy lions'... those lovely big yellow sunshine heads! But no, the name is actually a corruption of 'dent de lion' aka lion's tooth in French, which is in reference to the jagged tooth shape on their leaves.
The traditional date for gathering dandelions is 23rd of April, or St George's Day. They are all blooming at this time. The picture above was actually taken on St George's Day! If you make dandelion wine from the petals, then St George's Day is the tradional day to start it off. Happily you can now see lots of dandelions in the city too... our local council seems to be getting into the no-mow thing, and so are leaving all the lovely dandelions to flower and then turn to seed. Of course the most well-known folk use for dandelions is as a 'clock'. A schoolyard game is to pick the seedheads, or dandelion clocks, and count how many puffs it takes to blow all the seeds away, with the count telling the hour. Possibly less reliable than even the proverbial stopped clock.
Medically, they say the leaves of the dandelion are for the kidney and the root is for the liver. The leaves can be used as a diuretic - this is probably where the folk names about pissing the bed came from. When I was a kid, we used to say the 'milk' (the white sap that comes out of every part of the plant when cut) would make you piss yourself. Actually, the white stuff is latex, and has been used to make rubber. The root is supposed to be good for inflammed livers and as a cleanse after winter excesses. Bitter compounds have traditionally been used for the liver and for digestion. They say bitter compounds stimulate bile secretion, perhaps this would help if you have gall stones? I have no idea.
The famous food use for dandelions is dandelion root coffee, though also everything I've read about this seems to suggest it's more trouble than it's worth. I've never tried to make it. Dandelions have big roots though - they have an especially long tap root which goes deep into the soil, this is the reason they are so hard to irradicate. You can dig 'em up, but they'll still come back! You can make tea from the leaves, and put the leaves and flowers in salads, but I think they are too bitter. Of course, you can also buy dandelion and burdock drink in shops, which is big taste, imo. The Fentiman's version still has dandelion in.
I love dandelions. We're taught to hate them and treat them as an invasive weed, but I think they make everything so cheery and bright. In this sense they are very much a queer plant.