DANDELI′ON

Syn. Pi -a-bed ; Tarax′acum (Ph. L. E. & D.), L. A common British plant of the natural order Compos itæ. It is known among botanists by the names Taraxacum of ficin ale , T. dens leon is , and Leon to don Taraxacum (Linn.). Its root ( Taraxaci Radix , B. P.) is employed in medicine, being diuretic and tonic. It is roasted and used as coffee, and when mixed with an equal weight of foreign coffee constitutes the article once so much puffed under the name of ‘dandelion coffee.’ A similar mixture prepared with chocolate forms the ‘dandelion chocolate’ of the shops. The blanched leaves are used in salads, and the inspi ated juice, extract, and decoction are employed in medicine, and are considered as detergent, aperitive, and deobstruent. Ground roasted dandelion root cannot now be sold under the name of ‘dandelion coffee’ or mixed with coffee unle it has previously paid the chicory duty. See Decoction , Extract , .