Taraxacum officinale and is derived from the word "opificina", later "officina", meaning a workshop or pharmacy. The flowers are used to make dandelion wine, the greens are used in salads, the roots have been used to make a coffee substitute (when baked and ground into powder) and the plant was used by Native Americans as a food and medicine. Dandelions are harvested from the wild or grown on a small scale as a leaf vegetable. The leaves (called dandelion greens) can be eaten cooked or raw in various forms, such as in soup or salad. They are probably closest in character to
Iris setosa "Iris setosa" are poisonous. The rhizome contains iridin which is an oleoresin. This substance can affect the liver and digestive organs. It can cause allergic reactions such as severe rashes. It can also cause vomiting or diarrhea. It was used in an ingredient in a poison to put on arrowheads. Although the plant is poisonous, its starchy roots can be made safe for human consumption via cooking. It is cultivated in Japan for its edible root. The Aleut also made a drink from the roots, to be used as a laxative, but the Iñupiat considered the whole plant poisonous. It