Maria Sibylla Merian (Life time: 2 April 1647 – 13 January 1717) - Original publication: Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandlung und sonderbare Blumennahrung – The Caterpillars' Marvelous Transformation and Strange Floral Food, Volume 1
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) -
The dandelion is loved by bees and other pollinators. It arrived in the Americas in the 1620's and was common in New Netherland.
Dandelions grew alongside vegetables and herbs in home gardens to create remedies from the discomfort of many ailments: baldness, toothaches, fevers, weakness, lethargy, and depression; and as a food commodity. They remain part of our landscape and medicinal herbal teas today. The roasted and ground roots are used in a tea to help keep the liver healthy.
See a detailed article on the archeology of plant life in New Amsterdam by Joel Grossman, PhD. here. Courtesy of the Holland Society of New York.