Taraxacum tibetanum
Hand.Mazz.
Summary
Taraxacum tibetanum is a hardy perennial. Hermaphrodite flowers pollinated by insects are self-fertile. Adapts to light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage, tolerating mildly acid, neutral, and basic soil pH. Grows in semi-shade or full sun and prefers moist soil.
Description
A herb that keeps growing from year to year. It does not have a stem. It grows 5-15 cm tall. The leaves at the base are in a ring and they are deeply divided. They are 4.5-8 cm long by 1-1.2 cm wide. There are 4-6 pairs of side segments. The leaf lobes are narrow
Edible Uses
Leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. The following uses are also likely applicable to this species, though no specific records exist for it: roots can be cooked and eaten; flowers can be eaten raw or cooked, with unopened buds suitable for use in fritters. The whole dried plant makes a tea, and a pleasant tea can also be brewed from the flowers alone. Both leaves and roots are suitable for making tea. The root can be dried and roasted as a coffee substitute.
Traditional Uses
The leaves are cooked and used as a vegetable.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Medicinal Uses
The entire plant is used in Tibetan medicine, where it is considered to have a bitter taste and cooling potency. It is used as an anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, and febrifuge, and is prescribed for stomach disorders and pain caused by intestinal worms.
Distribution
It is a temperate plant. In the Himalayas it grows between 3,500-4,300 m above sea level.
Where It Grows
Asia, China, Nepal, Sikkim, Tibet,
Cultivation
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. This species is not in the IOPI list of accepted plant names. Prefers a well-drained humus-rich soil in full sun or light shade. Many species in this genus produce their seed apomictically. This is an asexual method of seed production where each seed is genetically identical to the parent plant. Occasionally seed is produced sexually, the resulting seedlings are somewhat different to the parent plants and if these plants are sufficiently distinct from the parents and then produce apomictic seedlings these seedlings are, in theory at least, a new species.
Propagation
Sow seed in spring in a cold frame, either surface-sowing or barely covering it, keeping the compost consistently moist. Germination should occur within 2 weeks. Prick out seedlings into individual pots — choosing relatively deep pots to accommodate the taproot — once they are large enough to handle, and plant out in early summer. The plant can also be propagated by division in early spring as growth resumes.
Other Uses
None known.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Khurmang, Khurmong, Kuo ma, Nigale sag, Tuki phool, Wakhur dangsong metog
References (2)
- Ghimire, S. K., et al, 2008, Non-Timber Forest Products of Nepal Himalaya. WWF Nepal p 52
- Guo, C., et al, 2022, An Ethnobotany Survey of Wild Plants Used by the Tibetan People of the Yadong River Valley, Tibet, China. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine p 22
