BURDOCK
(Arctium lappa)
burr seed, thorny burr, hareburr,

Description: Large, biennial plant. Leaves, on long stalks, many veined, wavy-edged, resembling rhubarb, growing from a thick tap toot. Stout stalks, the second year, grow 4-6 ft. tall. Small, magenta pink and white, solitary or clustered flowers, followed by spherical burrs. Found along fences, roadsides, waste places walls, populated areas throughout the U.S.

Edible, Medicinal: Peel roots of young small plants, cut and cook like carrots. When flower heads start to form, the rough bloom stalk can be peeled and core eaten raw, or cooked. Change first cooking water to remove bitter taste. Aperient, blood purifier, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic. Root, in its 2nd yr. is an excellent blood cleanser which helps in skin diseases, burns, wounds, swellings, hemorrhoids, canker sores. 1 cup of decoction a day (1 tsp. root with 1 cup cold water, let stand 5 hrs, bring to boil) or 10-25 drops in water 3-4 times a day. Fresh bruised leaves, a remedy for poison ivy, oak. Seeds to be used only with medical supervision.

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