Episode 32

The Truth About Dandelions with Host Stephanie Barelman

Published on: 19th March, 2025

The Truth About Dandelions

Episode Introduction

In today's episode, The Truth About Dandelions, we discuss what it means for a plant to be useful, what bees really want in their bento box, and resources for you to grow a rebellious garden year-round that humans and wildlife can enjoy.

Host Stephanie Barelman

Stephanie Barelman is the founder of the Bellevue Native Plant Society, a midwest motivational speaker surrounding the native plants dialog, and host of the Plant Native Nebraska Podcast.

Episode Sponsors

Today's episode is sponsored by:

Lauritzen Gardens

laurtizengardens.org

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Get some merch! https://plant-native-nebraska.myspreadshop.com/

Find us on Facebook

Visit our homepage https://plant-native-nebraska.captivate.fm

Give us a review on Podchaser! www.podchaser.com/PlantNativeNebraska

Support My Work via Patreon

The Plant Native Nebraska podcast can be found on the podcast app of your choice.

Episode Content

Dandelions: Public Enemy #1 Vs. Freedom Fighter?

Our parents (I'm looking at you, boomers) and their parents bought in to the idea of pristine and high-maintenance landscapes and dandelions look like a rebellious boy on a motor-bike.

What Dandelions and Native Plants Have in Common

Both native and non-native plants can be judged for being unruly and not conforming to societal expectations for perfect, tidy landscapes. But in aspiring to have native-plant forward gardens, we try to rely less on ideal aesthetics and more on what is wholesome for wildlife but also, sustainable.

Respect What's Native Where It's Native While Also Acknowledging Naturalized Plants Can Have Useful Qualities.

What's native will change where you go. It varies across the U.S. and across the globe. There's a strong benefit to planting locally historical plants but that doesn't mean we need to demonize all non-native plants. One-size-fits all never really lives up to its name, does it?

A Little Backstory on the Dandelion

The Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, is native to Europe and Asia and is a true herb of antiquity. So for those of you who might not know, it’s not native.

Ancient Medical

Has been hailed for its many medicinal uses including problems with the bladder, liver, and stomach.

Culinary Wonder

Every part of the plant is edible, which is unique for most plants. We’re talking salads, cooked greens, edible flowers, teas, wine.

Indigenous Use

The Iroquois tribe alone used it for pain relief, to treat dropsy, digestive and urinary problems, and lung inflammation, among other things. Many other tribes learned its usefulness quickly.

Do Bees Need Dandelions?

No, while generalists may browse them year-round( long bloom time,) generalists use whatever sources are available. There are other more nutritious foods and there are foods that cater to all bees, not just the generalists.

Don’t Dandelions Bloom Before Everything Else?

Only if all you have is brome or Kentucky bluegrass.

Early-Blooming Natives for Shade

Bloodroot
Jacob’s Ladder
Spring Beauty
Common Violet

Early-Blooming Natives for Sun

Prairie Smoke *regional native
Spiderwort
Pasque Flower
Golden Alexander
Field Pussytoes
Canada Anemone
Virginia Waterleaf
Penstemon *native and regionally native species
Wild Geranium

Native Trees for Early Bee Nutrition

American Bladdernut
Ohio Buckeye
Downy Serviceberry
Eastern Redbud
Chokecherry

Powerhouse Natives for Bees Year-Round

Native Sunflowers
Asters
Goldenrods
Milkweeds
Mountain Mints
Yarrow (our native species)
Coneflowers (Echinacea and Ratibida species)
Verbena Stricta

Nutritious Trees and Shrubs

Dogwood
Sumac
Elderberry
Native Viburnums
Buttonbush

Know Your Stuff

If you care about bees, there is a lot of really great literature out there right now by Heather Holm, the Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership, and other experts and organizations.

Heather Holm Bees: An Identification and Native Forage Guide

Heather's Free Resources: https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com/resources.html

Two handouts through The Xerces Society:

"Bumble Bee Conservation"

https://www.xerces.org/publications/brochures/bumble-bee-conservation

"Native Plants for Pollinators and Beneficial Insects: Northern Plains"

https://www.xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/22-027_01_NPPBI—NorthernPlains_web.pdf

The Xerces Society books:

Attracting Native Pollinators
100 Plants to Feed the Bees

Pollinator Partnership has a Prairie Parkland Planting Guide: https://pollinator.org/PDFs/Guides/PrairieParklandrx12FINAL.pdf

If you don't keep it

Compost it
Make wine out of it
Make salad out of it
Make other food with it

Cool links:

https://foragerchef.com/category/wild-green-recipes/dandelions/

https://foragerchef.com/guide-to-dandelions-harvesting-and-cooking/

https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-make-dandelion-wine-1327932

Our source for historical indigenous use:

Daniel Moerman's Native American Ethnobotany

Additional content related to this episode:

What makes a plant native?

http://bonap.net/fieldmaps Biota of North America North American Plant Atlas database-select Nebraska

https://bellevuenativeplants.org Bellevue Native Plant Society

native (wild type) vs. nativar/native cultivar (cultivated by humans for desirable characteristics)

On the Web

BONAP aforementioned

BNPS aforementioned

http://www.facebook.com/groups/bellevuenativeplantsociety- BNPS on Facebook

Books & Authors

Rick Darke- The Living Landscape

Douglas Tallamy- Professor and Chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Entomology at the University of Delaware, author of The Living Landscape, Nature's Best Hope, naturalist, and curator of "Homegrown National Park".

Enrique Salmon- Iwigara

Daniel Moerman -Native American Ethnobotany

Heather Holm- https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com

Native Plants of the Midwest

Planting in a Post-Wild World

Jon Farrar's Field Guide to Wildflowers of Nebraska