Worlds tallest dandelion
Dandelion Whine
Here are some ways to get rid of dandelions: spraying 2,4-D (an herbicide, banned in several countries for its health risks, but not in the U.S.); pulling up by hand; mowing the flowers before they set seed; and pulling them up with any of a dozen devices sold in garden stores designed to make the task easier.
Here are some ways to play with dandelions: use them as a bridal bouquet for playground nuptials; slit the stem and feed another stem through to make a crown; blow on the seeds to make a wish; and blow on the seeds to tell the time.
Kids love dandelions. Lawn-growers hate them. The plant is not native to North America, but to Europe and possibly Africa. It might seem to be a given that they arrived on our shores as stowaways, perhaps in the very first bag of grass seed, but nothing could be farther from the truth.
“Gardeners used to weed out the grass to plant the dandelions,” says Anita Sanchez, author of the book, The Teeth of the Lion: The Story of the Beloved and Despised Dandelion. Dandelions arrived on our shores on the Mayflower, she says, carefully transported by the Pilgrims and given an honored spot in their kitchen gardens.
Its
Man claims he’s grown the world’s tallest dandelion
Now, we’ve seen some big ones in our time (mainly after not mowing the lawn for a while).
But could this dandelion be the tallest in the world? Guiness World Records are on the case after it started growing by chance in a back garden.
At nearly seven feet tall, it took up residence in a flower pot belonging to Wayne Daniels, aged 48.
The window cleaner from Bowthorpe in Norfolk said he had tried to pull the weed out but it snapped halfway, and he then decided to leave it be.
‘The funny thing is that it is such a big dandelion and it has just been sitting in this flower pot that a friend gave me,’ he said.
‘I tried to pull it out of the pot and I managed to snap it in half but I read somewhere that if you cut a plant at a certain stage of growth it actually develops faster so I left it as an experiment.
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‘Within a couple of days the next thing I know it had shot up and basically had branches coming off it, I had never seen a dandelion like it.’
The official title for the world’s tallest dandelion is currently held
Interesting facts about dandelions.
I’m revisiting an old post that usually sees a bit of traffic at this time of year…but it’s NEW AND IMPROVED! I’ve added a new photo and some new facts, and updated some links. I hope you enjoy the extras!
Dandelions, dandelions everywhere! The City has reduced its herbicide use over the past few years, which is a very good thing – dandelions are, after all, one of the best early pollinator plants around!
Just for fun, I dug up some Interesting Facts about Dandelions:
The name dandelion comes from the French “dent de lion” – lion’s tooth, which refers to the serrated leaves.
Another folk identify for dandelion is “swine snort,” which makes me want to sneeze or giggle or both.
Taraxacum officinale is a perennial, but there are some dandelion species that are biennial.
If you mow dandelions, they’ll grow shorter stalks to spite you.
Dandelion pollen cannot cause allergies – the grains are far too large to be bothersome, but you can get contact dermatitis from the milky sap (latex) that the plant contains.
Dandelions open in the daytime and close at n
Or, When the world's tallest dandelion isn't a dandelion.
The motto of The Guinness World Records is OFFICIALLY AMAZING. And that it is, officially amazing, but not only in the sense that they might think. When I was a kid in Sweden I loved their orange-colored book, (1975 edition, maybe?) and I read everything in it, and stared at the photos of the man with the longest nails (how did he eat?) and the largest cat, amused and entertained and informed. Now I get to come back to this memorable source of trivia, but this time for a botanical and work-related reason.
The world record for the tallest dandelion is nearly a foot taller than most people was found by two Canadians 2011. They had their dandelion verified by two experts in Canada (see below) and accepted by the Guinness office as an official world record.From the Guinness website:
"The tallest dandelion measured 177.8 cm (70 in) and was found by Jo Riding and Joey Fusco (both Canada) in Ontario, Canada. The dandelion was measured on 12 September 2011. The dandelion was found on 4 August 2011 and was unofficially measured at 76 in. The dandelion was then officially measured by NutriLaw
HAMPSTEAD — It’s not Jack’s fabled beanstalk, but it is big, particularly big as dandelions go.
And Nick, Lukas and Benjamin Tripodi think their dandelion is big enough for a place in the “Guinness Book of World Records.”
The bright yellow flowers are considered a nuisance by many, but the three youngsters think their 49-inch plant is a world record-holder.
They applied to have the dandelion certified as the world’s tallest and it has been tentatively accepted by Guinness World Records in London.
It all started when Nick, at 13, the oldest of the three Tripodi boys, was flipping through the “Guinness Book of World Records” during a car ride. He spotted the dandelion, read the details and poked his mother up front, insisting he knew they had a flower much taller than the current record-holder, a 39-inch specimen from Sweden.
“I just knew the dandelion growing on our pool deck was definitely more than 39 inches,” Nick said. “I guess because it was all entangled in the bush, it let it just keep growing.”
When the family returned home, everyone took a good look at the dandelion and agreed it was a winner. Their mother, Tammy Tripodi, decided to dig it up a few da