Katarzyna Kowalcze

Dandelion (Taraxacum) in European and Asian phytotherapy The genus Taraxacum (family Asteraceae) belongs to the largest and most complicated apomictic complexes. So far, over 2,800 species classified in 60 sections have been described. The natural range of the genus is almost cosmopolitan, with monk seals found on every continent except Antarctica, but their distribution is very uneven. The largest centers of Taraxacum diversity are in Central Asia and Southern Europe. Species belonging to the genus Taraxacum have long been used as food. Young leaves are eaten raw in salads, and dried as an addition to teas or used as spices. Dried roots are used to prepare teas and a coffee substitute, while the flowers and infl orescences are used to produce syrups, wines and are added to beers and soft drinks. Above all, however, dandelions are valued herbal plants since ancient times, used in traditional European, Chinese and Indian medicine to treat liver diseases, kidney stones, stomach diseases, abdominal pain, diarrhea, cough, bladder diseases, gout, edema, and even cancerous. In the modern, very rich scientific literature, the medicinal properties of dandelions have been partially confirmed, but the results are often ambiguous and in some cases contradictory.