Cicely Mary Barker's Dandelion Fairy

Here's the Dandelion's rhyme:
See my leaves with tooth-like edges;
Blow my clocks to tell the time;
See me flaunting by the hedges,
In the meadow, in the lane,
Gay and naughty in the garden;
Pull me up-I grow again,
Asking neither leave nor pardon.
Sillies, what are you about
With your spades and hoes of iron?
You can never drive me out-
Me, the dauntless Dandelion!

The dandelion is a hardy perennial herb native to the northern hemisphere.  It is found growing wild in pastures, lawns, meadows, roadsides and waste places.  It produces bright yellow flowers from April through October followed by a fluffy head of seeds.

First recorded uses were by Arab physicians in the eleventh century.  The dandelion is rich in protein, sugar, vitamins and minerals.  It is a wholesome food as well as an active medicinal herb. The young leaves are used in soups and salads.  The dandelion root may be roasted and ground as a caffeine-free coffee substitute.  Collect from the wild or your own garden.  Gather young leaves in spring for salad, older leaves in summer for tea and wine and pull roots in autumn.