Are my Dandelions moldy?

Hi,
I'm a regular eater of dandelions. I often see small black spots on dandelions I get at the grocery store. I get these spots less often from dandelions I find in local parks. The spots are small so they don't show well in these photos. I'm wondering if these spots are mold? (PS Sorry if this is the wrong forum. I did not see another place this really fit.)

I would guess it's insect eggs rather than mold. Do they wipe off easily?

Ghislaine de Lessines wrote:I would guess it's insect eggs rather than mold. Do they wipe off easily?

Thanks for responding. No they don't wipe off or fall off when soaked.

I have been eating dandelions and other weeds for more than a decade. I would never worry about such tiny spots. Do you think that paleolithic man worried about that? I would worry much more about not eating enough leafy greens. Fungi is a huge kingdom. You will find some form of fungi on every piece of produce you eat, probably. It's natural and ok.
John S
PDX OR

John Saltveit wrote:I have been eating dandelions and other weeds for more than a decade. I would never worry about such tiny spots. Do you think that paleolithic man worried about that? I would worry much more about not eating enough leafy greens. Fungi is a huge kingdom. You will find some form of fungi on every piece of produce you eat, probably. It's natural and ok.
John S
PDX OR

I respectfully disagree. Molds can be toxic. I would appreciate members of the forum letting me know if this is a mold or something else.

Are they flat or do they stick out? Are they only on the bottoms of the leaf? I think eggs are more likely than mold. I'd try looking at them with a magnifying glass.

When it comes to molds the general rules (as I understand them) are that white molds are your friends, Green molds are undesirable and black molds are dangerous. Fuzzy molds are less desirable than those that lay flat on the surface they exist on. If that is a mold, I wouldn't worry about it all that much. Over the last few years I've gotten quite used to eating all sorts of these things so I'm with John on this issue. Probably a harmless thing. That being said, if you're not sure, just don't eat it.

Now, I really don't think it's a mold at all. Probably a webbing or secretion of some insect. My guess is an egg case or something similar. Maybe slug or snail mucus dried up.

Look like eggs to me. I looked up your thread, because I grow dandelions to juice and they tend to get white mold (powdery mildew), just like cucurbits, on the leaves, if they are not in full sun.