“Honey, may all your dandelion wishes come true …”
The above is an actual wish someone expressed, using the common dandelion (Taraxcum officinale) as a vehicle for their seemingly silly wish. What lies behind that wish is the perception that dandelion is an invasive weed. The vigorous sprouting of wishes in our heart has been likened to the abundant growth and carefree propagation of weeds. Unsurprisingly, the dandelion (in the above-mentioned person’s mind) fits the bill perfectly, so they effortlessly linked together dandelions and the proliferation of human wishes. The dandelion, named after its dentate leaves that resemble the teeth of a lion, was so called by the French: “dent de lion”. It didn’t take long for the name to morph to “dandelion”. This picture was taken on the Graiger campus of King Khalid University in Abha, Saudi Arabia, where I work for a living teaching English. The photo may leave the impression that dandelions are bee-pollinated. That is not true. The dandelion bears perfect flowers. It is bisexual