Donal Hickey: Welcome dandelions instead of banishing them
A bee feeding on a dandelion with grass in the background
Spring growth is here — but the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is among the environmental groups calling for a delay in lawn-mowing work for as long as possible to benefit pollinators.
Any day now, the bright yellow dandelion, which lights up lawns and the countryside in general, will reappear.
In a recent plant survey, the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland found that the dandelion, one of the early arrivals of spring, is the most numerous plant in this country.
Closely linked to St Brigid, it has traditionally been regarded among the first wild plants to bloom after her February 1 feast day.
Poet Patrick Kavanagh was sceptical about people’s respect for it, versifying: “Dandelions growing on headlands showing/Their unloved heads to everyone."
For all that, it has long been an esteemed native plant, and a source of reputed cures to people as well as being a valuable food for wildlife.
Dandelion, a hardy, resilient plant, is considered a weed by many people. Those mowing manicured lawns are familiar with them and, no matter how often dandelions are cut down during grass-cutting, they always shoot back up again quickly.
Among the first wildflowers to bloom each year, dandelions are an ideal food source for the first pollinators emerging from hibernation. They can tide pollinators over until other wildflowers begin to bloom, keeping butterflies and bees happy.
Writing on the IWT website, conservationist Grace Bettayeb says: “They grow almost anywhere, including in cracks in road cement, are nearly always in flower, and start blooming early in the spring without stopping until autumn. Cold weather doesn’t do much more than slow them down a bit."
Whatever about being ‘unloved’, in some sectors regard for dandelion in Ireland goes back a long way, according to Niall Mac Coitir in his book, .
It has been used widely in herbal cures for many ailments, colds, cuts, warts, rheumatism and a blood-cleansing tonic. It was also known to treat stomach upsets and for its diuretic qualities to help urine flow, thereby assisting with kidney and associated troubles.
Dandelion was also mixed with other plants to make brews for a number of disorders, as well as being widely used here and in Britain to produce ‘a very potent, but most palatable’ wine, Mac Coitir noted.
Thank you, thank you Cork City Council for leaving the wonderful sweep of dandelions and daffodils along the south link road. What a lovely splash of colour to brighten up these gloomy days.@corkcitycouncil @Corkcoco @CorkGreens pic.twitter.com/r2zNnjNqRx
— Richard T. Mills (@RichardTMills) March 21, 2024
Let’s leave the last words to Grace Bettayeb who says the dandelion’s most important use, arguably, is as a food source for pollinating insects, especially in times of scarcity: “The more dandelions there are the better, especially early in the year when emerging bumblebee queens need food to survive on as they search for places to build their nests."
