The dandelion is 83 million years old. Well, I’m exaggerating; those are his ancestors. The common dandelion, the one we know well, would have arrived here, in North America, in the 17the century, by ships from Europe. Science books mention it in 1672 and 1689.
It has since been appreciated, particularly by indigenous peoples who ate it and used it therapeutically, but it has especially been hated, more recently, by lovers of perfect lawns. One thing is certain: he’s here for good.
Are we right to be ecstatic over a beautiful lawn and to deplore the presence of yellow tufts which disfigure it? The biologist Claude Lavoie, professor at Laval University, asks the question in Dandelion versus lawn (Multimondes, 2024, 240 pages), a fascinating popular science essay. By telling the story of the hated flower and that of the cherished green beds, with a scientific perspective that includes socio-economic considerations, Lavoie offers a very informative and entertaining summer work.
The lawn popular in North America, Europe and Asia consists of a single grass, Kentucky bluegrass, also called Kentucky bluegrass. Lavoie dates its origins back to the 12th centurye century. At the time, it was not the lawn of today, but there were still monasteries surrounded by landscaping. Other hypotheses attribute the birth of the lawn to the English practice of bowling, in the 13th century.e century, or to the Scottish passion for golf, in the 14the century.
The first lawns made of grasses, which look a little like ours, date from the royal gardens of the 17th century.e century. Wealthy Americans, such as Presidents Washington and Jefferson, imported them to North America. They are an affair for the rich, since they require to be grazed by rabbits and sheep which must be taken care of.
In 1886, an American landscape architect named Frank Scott signed the first plea for the lawn. “A soft, closely mowed lawn is by far the most essential element of beauty in the lawn of the suburban home,” he writes.
For the phenomenon to be democratized, however, we need the tools that make it possible. The rotary blade kerosene mower arrived in the 1930s, preceded by the automatic watering can invented in 1871, by the seed sieve in the 1890s and by chemical lawn fertilizer in 1928. As the dandelion loves these green beds, a first herbicide intended to combat it appeared in 1941.
With the development of the low-density residential suburbs from 1945, the reign of the lawn took hold. The latter, when it is beautiful, becomes “an indicator of financial comfort, and therefore of pride,” notes Lavoie. Even those who don’t care have to do their part to avoid being considered bad neighbors.
The dandelion, in this story, appears as a troublemaker. Some, however, attribute multiple virtues to it. First, it can be eaten and it has nutritional qualities. It can be made into wine, beer and used as a diuretic or as a remedy for liver or kidney problems or against menstrual pain.
From a strictly scientific point of view, however, Lavoie specifies, the therapeutic effects of dandelion remain to be proven. Dandelion, on a biochemical level, is “promising”, but too few studies are devoted to it. China, notes the biologist, is more interested in it than North America at the moment.
Dandelion is also recognized as useful for pollinating insects. Hence the birth, in 2019, of the movement No Mow May, known in Quebec as the Dandelion Challenge, which invites you to let them bloom. Opponents quickly made themselves heard, objecting that not mowing the lawn would worsen the problem of pollen allergies and encourage the presence of ticks. Lavoie rejects these fears.
According to him, the Dandelion Challenge alone will not save domestic bees, but it is not useless – native bees benefit from it – it is above all safe and helps to raise people’s awareness of environmental issues.
“If we are not ready to do nothing and tolerating plants as harmless as dandelions to protect the environment, I think this bodes poorly for the future,” he concludes.
The so-called perfect lawn, very demanding in terms of water and maintenance, has few benefits. Without pleading for the radical rewilding of residential land, Lavoie states his scientific preference for a mixed lawn, with clover, in particular, that is to say, according to the current standard, “neglected, low maintenance or flowered”. The lazy eco-friendly that I am is tempted.