Family Name, English: Aster, Daisy Family Name, Latin: Compositae, Asteraceae
Latin Game: Arcticum lappa Common Names: Bardana, burr seed, clot burr, grass burdock, hardock, happy major, hareburr, cockle-burr, cuckakoo-button, wild gobo Native American names: Skagit - “sticks to everything”; Swinomish - “bad plant” (Gunther p.50) Related Species: Arcticum minus, Arcticum pubens, Arcticum tomentosum, also related to genus cousinia ______________________________________________________________________________ Body System Afilliations: (1) Nervous system, (2) Respiratory system, (3) Digestive System, (4) skin, (5) Cardio-vascular system ______________________________________________________________________________ Botanical Description: Habitat: Herb, biennial Size: Leaves are up to 45 cm long and plant grows to be 3-4 ft in height Arrangement: Basal Leaves: Large, ovate, dark green and hairy on top, greyish green underneith Flowers: The florets are tubular and the flowerheads themselves are 4 cm broad and pink to purple in color, stamens are dark purple with white styles. The flowers also have circular burrs around 3/4 inches thick that are made up of stickers on the surface. They flowers end in a “stiff spiny or hooked tip.”(Bisset.) Fruit: Spiny, sticky and hooked enabling them to latch onto things for dispersal. (Sineki, Gibbons) Bark: Reddish, pithy stem with woolly branches Twigs: See bark Underground parts: Tubers Personal observation/description: (Graiger, Gibbons) _____________________________________________________________________________ Ecology: Habitat: “It groweth commonly about towns and villages, about ditches and highways and dunghills ans such vile places.” (Turner). It is stated in many sources that it will grow almost everywhere, mostly often in disturbed areas and referr to it as a door-yard weed. (Gerard, Gibbons) Range: U.S., England, Eurasia Native Where: Eurasia Ecological Relationship: It’s considered a noxious weed but is greatly used by herbalists and other wilcrafters for its medicine and nourishment. It is also valued highly in Asia and used in Chinese Medicine (Wikipedia). ____________________________________________________________________________
Personal Obseervations of Locations Observed, Dates, and Description of Plants: Unable to identify the plant due to the season. One can barely make out the wilted leaves drooping above ground. ___________________________________________________________ Western (European-American) Uses/Relationships:
Food: Not too much of a staple, however roots have been known to be peeled and boiled twice, then seasoned with butter and salt. The pith an also be made into a confection by boiling, draining, and boiling again in syrup made of 1/2 cup water, juice and peel of 1 lemon and 1 cup sugar. Then it is drained and rolled in granulated sugar. (Gibbons, p.48) The stalk was known to be eated raw with salt and peppeer in the middle ages, before the burrs had developed on plant. (Gerard). Dandelion and Burdock wine is also a tradtion amongst Europeans. (Sanecki) Materials/Technology:Swiss inventor George de Mestral created velcro after looking at the Burdock seeds under a microscope to examine their ability to stick together. (Wikipedia)
Medicine: 1. Part Used: Roots, termed Bardmae radix for medical purposes (Grainger). Medicinal Actions: Skin eruptions or vericose veins, ringworm, clearning of stones, control colic, cough, stomach ache. Body System Associations: Liver, Digestive System, Kidneys, Respiratory system Applications: Decoction for skin eruptions and vericose veins, poultice for ringworm (in Ireland), stimulated kidneys to control colic but no application found (Saneki), and taken with pinaple kernels for cough (Turner). Other: The roots are rich in iron 2. Part Used: Leaves Medicinal Actions: Absorb fever, vericose veins and skin erruptions, colic Body System Associations: Liver, Cardio-vascular system, Central nervous system Applications: Leaves were bandaged to the patients ankles and wrists pointed downward to absorb fever in New England; African Americans in Missouri supposedly cured colic in babies by hanging a necklace made of burdock leaves around their babies necks; the leaves can aslo be used in a decoction for clearing of the blood and skin erruptions. (Sanecki) 3. Part Used: Seeds Other: “Gypsies” fastened the seeds in a small bag and wore it around their necks during the winter to ward of rheumatism. (Sanecki) ______________________________________________________________________________
Indigenous and Non-Western Use/Significance/ Relationship:
Food: Not used by most Indigenous tribes in N. America, considered introduced and termed by some the “bad plant.” (Gunther) In Asia, however, Burdock is a staple food and the roots are prepared (usually stir-fried, or sauteed) with other vegetables. (Wikipedia) The most common dish in Japan is called Kimpira gobo which is made with burdock, carrots and sesame seeds. (Consious Choice) Materials/Technology: None Medicine: Indigenous Group/Nonwestern region: China Part Used: Seeds Medicinal Actions: Remove toxins in the case of fevers and bad infections Energetics: Cooling Harvest: The roots should be dug up in the spring or fall of the plants’ second year. Storage: If fresh, store in the refrigerator, i dried store it a ceramic or tinted glass jar. (Parziale) ______________________________________________________________________________
Propogation: Technique: Seeds sown 1/4 inch deep into soil, preferrably rich in nitrogen. Timing: Takes 6 to 10 days to germinate and commercially are sown into the ground in August. Personal Experience: None yet (Parziale) ______________________________________________________________________________
Harvest: 1.Plant Part: Roots Season of Harvest: In the fall of the first year after a frost or in the spring of the second year. Method of Harvest: N/A, dig up roots Ecological Considerations of Harvest: The plant is very abundant, however ecological awareness should always be present when harvesting a plant. Cultural considerations of Harvest: None Cautions: None 2. Plant Part: Seeds Season of Harvest: None Method of Harvest: Collect seeds when mature 3. Plant Part: Leaves Season of Harvest: spring Method of Harvest: Young stalks, clipped from base ______________________________________________________________________________
Personal Experience: Food: I enjoy stir-frying gobo with carrots and toasted sesame seeds above all, however it tastes delicious when added to most vegetable stir-frys in my experience. Procurement: The Olympia Food Co-op. Condition: Fresh Cost: $3 - $4 per pound ______________________________________________________________________________
References Cited 1. Bisset, Norman Grainger. Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals. Stuttgart: Medapham Scientific Publishers, 1994.
2. Gerard, John. The Herbal or General History of Palnts. New York, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1975 . (The original The Herball or Generall Histoire of Plantes first published in 1633, London.)
3. Gibbons, Euell. Stalking the Wild Asparagus. Pennsylvania: Alan C. Hood and Company, Inc., 1962.
4. Gunther, Erna. Ethnobotany of Western Washington. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1945.
5. Saneki, Kay N. The Complete Book of Herbs. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc., 1974.
6. Turner, Chillian. A New Herball Parts II and III. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1568.
