HOW DANDELIONS BECAME JUST ANOTHER PESKY WEED
In his decidedly straightforward manner, Lance Geiger from The History Guy reflects on the long history of the dandelion. He points out that it was once known as a tasty, edible, and versatile medicinal plant before it was considered a troublesome weed.
"The history of the dandelion is closely linked to humans, as well as many other animals and plants that provided food and medicine for generations of ancient humans and now thrive in specially man-made biomes... The extreme irony that we now have you." waged war on the plants we once were, bringing them with us as staples and reminders of home.”
He also explains how dandelions went from useful to undesirable. "Things that made dandelions desirable soon became problems. Dandelions spread widely and easily, especially in areas with disturbed or shallow rooting such as lawns. Dandelions can grow as deep as 15 feet in ideal conditions. Other plants and medicines have largely made those boring dandelion obsolete. and now it mostly stays where people just don't want it to.