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Notes: Burdocks are European imports that have naturalized themselves throughout North America except the far north. That said, there are a great many counties in Minnesota, principally in the western half of the state, that do not report their presence. They are not indigenous to the Garden but have been around many years. Martha Crone listed A. minus on her 1951 Garden census.
Lore and uses: It may surprise one to realize that this rough looking plant has important food and medicinal uses - both in America and in the Old World from which it came. Shakespeare makes reference to the plant in three plays. Here is a brief summation of uses:
Medicinal: The medicinal use of Burdock is thought to be more important than the food use. Dried root from first year plants is considered the official drug and one of the best blood purifiers. It was also used in treating skin diseases, especially in the treatment of eczema. Seeds and leaves were also used. Leaves provided use as a poultice and for an infusion. In North America the seeds were considered very important to make a tincture and extract for chronic skin diseases. Hutchins gives specifics on process and some uses. She also mentions the wide use of the plant in the folk medicine of Russia. One particular example from the old days is Burdock oil, called Repeinoe Maslo in Russian, as a hair tonic to strengthen and encourage the growth of new hair. This use was in fact somewhat confirmed by a line in the first novel of contemporary Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, (Wild Berries 1981), in which he writes "Once Karyakin, the haberdasher, came by and examined the painting for a long time. Then smoothing his hair, greased with burdock oil and cut "in Parentheses," he asked Barkhotkin senior . . ." Culpeper has much to say about Burdock in The English Physician, including this - "The leaves applied to the places troubled with the shrinking of the sinews or arteries, give much ease. The juice of the leaves, or rather the roots themselves, given to drink with old wine, doth wonderfully help the biting of any serpents; and the root beaten with a little salt, and laid on the place, suddenly easeth the pain thereof, and helpeth those that are bit by a mad dog. The juice of the leaves being drank with honey, provoketh urine, and remedieth the pain of the bladder."
Food: Originally brought to the new world as a food source, it can still be found at some markets in the old world and in speciality organic food stores in the U.S. In Japan, cultivars are grown for food market purposes. The root, leaves and stem are useful as foods. The pith of the root and of the leaf stalks can be cooked as a vegetable or used as a potherb. The root is to be collected in the fall from first year plants and the leaf stems must be stripped of all the outer rind. Collect leaves before the flowers form. In eastern Asia, sliced root is used for stir-fry, especially good with sesame seed and soy sauce. The young stalks when boiled are said to resemble asparagus in taste and stalks and young leaves make a pleasant salad. The root is a long taproot, often up to 2 feet long and of 2 to3 lbs. weight. Roasted ground root can be used for a tea and as a coffee substitute.
You can read much additional information in Fernald, Hutchens, Harrington, Tilford, and Mrs. Grieve. (Ref. #'s 6, 12, 9, 39, 7 respectively). Hutchens and Mrs. Grieve are particularly good.
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