BURDOCK (Arctium lappa)

An old tradition maintains that burdock root should be gathered in the waning moon, dried, cut into pieces and strung on a red string. When worn, this burdock necklace will protect the bearer from evil and negativity. The planet Venus rules over burdock and consequently the herb is useful for love potions. In medieval times a girl would pick a bur from burdock, give it her lover's name and throw it against her dress. If it stuck he was faithful, if not, he was untrue. The herb's etymology is obvious: "bur" originating from the French word "bourre" meaning woolly, and the word dock is an Old English word denoting any large-leafed plant. However, another theory alleges that in medieval England, when the use of French was still widespread from the Norman invasion, farm women used to wrap their butter in the big leaves of burdock to maintain its freshness en route to market. So bur-dock may have evolved from "beurre (butter) dock."

The tenacity of the herb's burs is well known. Indeed, the Swiss inventor, George de Mestral, perfected Velcro after studying the bur's innumerable tiny hooks under his magnifying glass.

Burdock is a large herb - it can grow as high as two meters and as wide as one meter. It blooms from mid-July to September, with round, purple flower heads on stalks a meter long. The flowers mature into the spherical, brown-grey burs.

Burdock grows easily from seed and is bothered by no pests, however if you plan on planting burdock in your garden for medicinal or culinary use, be aware that the herb can become very invasive. If you want to harvest the roots - which can grow to one meter in length - plant them in friable, rich soil. Some gardeners add copious amounts of wood shavings or other loose material to facilitate their harvesting, which - as with all roots crops - is best done in the fall to maximize nutritional content. Burdock prefers a location with full sun.

Burdock is one of the principal detoxifying herbs in both Western and Chinese herbal medicine. It is an excellent blood purifier and will help cleanse the body of waste products, including heavy metals and uric acid. The latter quality makes burdock a superior herb for the treatment of arthritis and gout. Several recent studies have confirmed burdock's popular reputation as an anti-tumor herb. It is one of the four ingredients in the Essaic anti-cancer tea blend. This celebrated formula was refined by Canadian nurse, Renee Caisse, who acquired the recipe from a First Nations' healer.

Burdock's antibiotic, anti-fungal and demulcent qualities have proven valuable in the treatment of skin disorders, especially when toxicity is a factor. Taken internally and applied topically, it has been used to successfully medicate acne, boils, eczema and psoriasis.

The herb works through the bitter stimulation of the digestive juices and especially of bile secretion. Because of this it will assist appetite and digestion. It has been used successfully in treating anorexia nervosa and similar conditions, to help the kidneys work efficiently and to heal cystitis.

In general, burdock promotes overall health and will effectively correct symptoms of the body's imbalance such as skin problems and dandruff. Topically, it can be used with success as a compress or poultice to accelerate the healing of wounds.

The Japanese are very fond of burdock, although the herb is rarely used in Western kitchens. The young stalks can be peeled and steamed like asparagus and the young leaves can be cooked like spinach. The very young leaves may even be added raw to a salad. The herb is quite nutritious, being high in chromium, iron, magnesium, silicon and thiamine (vitamin B1).

When camping, an excellent wild-crafted, nutritious vegetable may be added to your meal as follows:
Roasted Burdock
Roll whole, cleaned burdock roots in fresh, young burdock leaves, wrap them in aluminum foil and roast them in the hot ashes of your campfire for about one hour. Lightly salt them or, even better, sprinkle them with soy sauce.

Burdock Roots in Soy Sauce
Cut desired quantity of peeled burdock roots into long pieces the width of matchsticks. Just cover with water in a heavy saucepan with a generous splash of soy sauce. Bring to boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and continue simmering until most of the liquid has cooked away and the burdock has absorbed the soy sauce. Remove from heat before the burdock sticks to the pan. Serve with Japanese or other Asian food.

Burdock was first published in alive magazine.