Description

Taraxacum officinale, the common dandelion, is a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae, native to temperate Eurasia and now naturalised across all continents in disturbed grasslands, meadows, and roadsides. The thick, fleshy taproot, which may penetrate deeply into the soil, accumulates inulin — a prebiotic fructooligosaccharide — and bitter sesquiterpene lactones including taraxacin. Documented in the works of Arab physicians of the 11th century, including Ibn Sina’s Qanun, and in European herbals from the 16th century, dandelion root has been traditionally used in digestive bitter tonics. In India, limited naturalised populations occur in the Himalayan foothills, and commercial root is imported for Ayurvedic compound preparations.