Burdock
(Arctium lappa)
burr seed, thorny burr, hareburr
Description:
A large, biennial plant growing from a thick tap root. The leaves
are on long stalks, many veined and wavy-edged, resembling rhubarb.
Stout stalks, the second year, grow 4-6 feet tall. The flowers
are small, magenta pink and white, solitary or clustered, followed
by spherical burrs. Found along fences, roadsides, waste places
walls and populated areas throughout the U.S.
Edible,
Medicinal: Peel the roots of young small plants, cut and
cook like carrots. When the flower heads start to form, the
rough bloom stalk can be peeled and the core eaten raw or cooked.
Change the first cooking water to remove the bitter taste. It
is a aperient, blood purifier, cholagogue, diaphoretic, and
diuretic. The root, in its 2nd year, is an excellent blood cleanser
which helps in skin diseases, burns, wounds, swellings, hemorrhoids,
and canker sores. Use 1 cup of the decoction a day (1 teaspoon
of the root with 1 cup cold water, and let stand for 5 hrs,
bring to a boil) or 10-25 drops of the tincture
in water 3-4 times a day. The fresh bruised leaves is a remedy
for poison ivy or oak. Seeds should only be used, with medical
supervision.
