I just found out dandelions aren't native to North America at all

Was reading a book by Peter Del Tredici called "Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast" and it blew my mind. Turns out dandelions came over with European settlers on purpose for food and medicine. I always thought they were just part of the landscape here in Ohio my whole life. Anyone else run into a common plant that surprised you with its real origin?

2 comments

2 Comments

claireg811mo ago

omg that's wild. I actually read something similar in a gardening blog a few years back - they brought them over specifically because they were one of the first greens to pop up in spring for salads. But the craziest part to me is how they spread. Like each seed head has like 50 to 100 seeds and they can travel for miles in the wind. No wonder they took over so fast once they got here.

cora4001mo ago

Wait, 100 seeds per head??? That's insane. No wonder they're everywhere now, feels like they just took over overnight.