Plant Study
Burdock
Aster/Composite
Arctium lappa, Arctium minus, Arctium tomentosum
English Names : Clotbut, Bardane, Beggars Buttons, Gypsy Rhubarb, Burr, Common Burdock, Great Burdock (7:on-line).
Chinese Names : Wu Shih, Nui Bang, Niu-tzu, Sheng-ma, niu-bang-tzu
French names : Bardane, Grande Bardance, Gouteron
German Names : Kette, Grosse Klette
Russian Names : Repeinik, Lopuj
Old English Names : Herrif, Aireve, Airup (8:90)
Native American Names : Nuxalk - sea urchin (2:305)
Body System Affiliations
1. Urinary
2. Digestive
3. Skin
4. Musculo-skeletal
5. Reproductive
Botanical Description
Habit: Herb
Size : A. lappa : 0.5 - 1.5m tall
Arrangement: Alternate
Leaves: Egg or heart shaped hairless on top, wooly and white underneath.
Flowers: Red-violet heads surrounded by green hooked bracts forming a ball-like-bur.
Fruit: "Achenes, oblong, 3-angled, several-ribbed, hairless, pappus of numerous, short bristles." (2:305)
Underground Parts: Taproot
Ecology
Habitat: Moist areas, roadsides, pastures, settled areas in lower elevations, disturbed areas (2: 305)
Native to: Eaurasia
Ecological Relationships: Ghost moth larvae and other Lepidoptera insectseat burdock roots. (6: On-line)
Observed: 11.12.05 - 11.27.05 Located two feet from Long Fellow Creek in West Seattle, WA, growing in very moist soil, with shade and partial sun exposure. Plant was broken half way up the stem and was crispy brown, showing no signs of life, it had decayed with the fall.
Western (European/American)
Uses/Relationships
Part: Root
Constituents: Flavanoid glycosides, bitter glycosides, alkaloid, anti-microbial substance, inulin (1:61)
Medicinal Actions: Diuretic, diaphoretic, blood purifier, alterative, bitter, laxative, tonic, vulnerary (1:61) nutritive tonic, antiscourbutic, hypoglycemic, alterative, exthanematous, anti-pyretic, rejuvinative, stomachic, urinary tonic,aphrodesiac, estrogenic cholagogue, depurative, anti-onchotic, anti-tumor, anti-rheumatic, antibiotic, anodyne,pulmonary. Fresh root: bacteriostatic, fungistatic, diaphoretic, febrifuge, strongly diuretic, tonic (8:95).
Essential Oils:
Burdock root oil is rich in pytosterols and essential fatty acids.
Harvest: Unearth plant in fall of its first year, or at the latest, spring of second year. (8:104)
Application: Pharmacy:
Fresh Root Tincture: 30 - 240 drops/day in water
Dried Root Infusion: Half cup - 2 cups/125-500ml a day
Decoction: 1-9 tsp./5-45ml a day. (8:95)
Part: Seeds
Medicinal Actions: Diuretic, alterative, tonic, vulnerary, demulcent, relaxant. (8:100)
Harvest: Fall (8:104)
Application : Pharmacy:
Tincture: 20 -160 drops a day in water.
Infusion: Half cup - 3 cups/125-750ml a day. (8:100)
Part: Leaf
Medicinal Actions: vulnerary, discutent, keratolytic, tonic, cholagogue, diuretic, depurative. (8:102)
Harvest: Small, first year leaves are best (8:104)
Application : Pharmacy:
Fresh Leaf Tincture : 10 - 100 drops a day, in water.
Fresh Leaf Infusion : Half - 4 cups/125 - 1000ml a day. (8:102)
Indigenous
Uses/Relationships
Indigenous Group(s): Cherokee, Meskwaki
Medicinal Use: Have used burdock root to strengthen pregnant wombs and energies, and give birthing stamina. (8:99)
Chinese
Uses/Relationships
Food: Root eaten, known as 'Gobo'
Medicinal Use: Given as an aphrodisiac, and used as an impotence/sterility treatment. (7:on-line)
Personal
Uses/Relationships
Food: I sautéed the root in sesame oil, soy sauce, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It was very good, though slightly bitter.
Medicine
Part Used: Root
Harvest: 11.27.05
Site Location: Long Fellow Creek, Seattle, WA
Site Description: Soil is clay-like, very moist and water retentive. Plant was located ~3ft. from creek, in a mostly shaded area with some sun exposure. Other plants around the burdock included horsetail, snow berry, and comfrey. Salmon were swimming and jumping upstream in the creek, and people walked along the path on the bridge above the site. I selected this plant for its closeness to home.
Technique: I was able to uproot the whole plant with one pull, and cut off the root.
Application: Fresh root tincture
Preparation: I diced the root, then weighed it. At a 1:2, weight to volume ratio I added the appropriate amount of 105 proof Vodka. I bottled, labeled, and gave a good shake before I let it sit. I will decant and bottle again, 2-4 weeks from harvest date.
Pharmacy: Fresh Root Tincture: 30 - 240 drops/day in water. (8:95)
Reason/Purpose: I chose burdock for its many varied uses. It seems a necessary component to any home herbal medicine chest.
Notes of Interest
In the 1940's George de Mestral was inspired by Burdock burs to create Velcro. (2:305)
In Europe, the soda, Dandelion and Burdock is still popular though it's modern recipe contains neither herb.
Shakespeare mentioned burdock in Troilus and Cressida , King Lear , and As You Like It. (8:109)
References Cited
1. Hoffman, David. The Holistic Herbal. Shatestbury, Dorset: Harper-Collins,2001.
2. Mackinnon, Andy and Jim Pojar. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast . Vancouver, British Colombia: Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing, 2004.
3. Moerman, Daniel E. Native American Ethnobotany Database. Aug. 1999. Online @ http://www.umd.umich,edu/cgi-bin/herb/ . Visited 11.29.05.
4. www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/add/toxic/plant02.htm . Visited 10.12.05
5. http://en-wikipedea.org/wiki/Burdock . Visited 10.12.05
6. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sust. 1994 May. Online @ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MV035 . Visited 10.12.05.
7. Viable Herbal Solutions. 2005 June. Online @ www.viable-herbal/herbdesc/1burdock.htm. Visited 10.12.05.
8. Weed, Susan. Healing Wise. Woodstock, NY: Ash Tree Publishing, 1989.
