The Magi's Garden : Burdock

Burdock (Arctium spp, A lappa, A minus)
Folk Names: Aireve, Airup, Bardana, Bardona, Beggar's Buttons, Beggar's Lice, Bur, Burrseed, Burs, Bur Weed, Cockleburr, Cockle-button, Clotbur, Fox’s Clote, Gobo (Japan), Grass Burdock, Great Burdock, Happy Major, Hardock, Hare-burr, Herrif (Anglo-Saxon from hoeg or “a hedge”), Hurrburr, Lappa, Love Leaves, Personata, Philanthropium, Thorny Burr, Turkey Burrseed, Woolly Burdock; Am Common Burdock

Description: Arctium lappa is a biennial found from east Canada to Illinois and Pennsylvania. It is a European plant however. Burdock prefers limey soil and will grow up to a two-foot root. The root is long, fleshy, gray-brown outside and whitish inside. In the second year, the plant grows a furrowed, reddish, pithy stem six to eight feet long with woolly branches. The first year plant has only basal, rhubarb-like leaves. The plant always has large basal and alternately arranged leaves, oblong-cordate to cordate or heart-shaped. The have a long stem and are green and hairy on top, downy gray beneath. The edges are wavy. The stems of lower leaves are grooved on the upper side. In the second year plant, spiky purple flowers appear in loose corymb clusters from July to October. These produce long-stalked, large-hooked burs up to one and one-half inches which cling to passing animals and people. Arctium minus resembles A. lappa, but is smaller. It is found in Canada south to Kansas and the Virginias. The burs and stalks are also smaller, and the stalks of lower leaves are hollow and not grooved. It flowers from July to October.

Effects: gentle
Planet: Venus Zodiac Libra, Sagittarius
Element: water
Associated Deities:

Traditions:
Burdock is used as a fasting tea in some Indian traditions.

The name Arctium, from arktos meaning “bear,” is in reference to the roughness of the burrs. Lappa is derived from a word meaning “to seize” or “hand.” The old English names like Aireve and Airup come from reafe, a “robber,” or reafian, “to seaize.” The burrs have been used as temporary fasteners for ripped clothes or missing buttons.

Velcro was directly inspired by the ability of burdock burrs to attach themselves to nearly any fabric. It was invented by the Swiss engineer George de Mestral as he walked his dog one day in 1948 and noticed some burrs attached to his sock. It took thirty years for Velcro to catch on however.

Magic:
Scatter the dried plant, sprinkle an infusion, or add some burdock to wash-water and use around your home to ward off negativity. It may also be used to purify. Protective incense and spells benefit from the addition of this common plant. Gather the roots in a waning moon for protection against evil and negativity.

Health wise, burdock leaves on soles of feet are said to ease gout. Eating it is also said to neutralize and eliminate poisons in your system.

Known Combinations:
none noted

Medical Indications: (Caution: interferes with iron absorption when taken internally) Parts used: root, seeds, leaves
Burdock is a cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, and external antibacterial and anti-fungal. It acts as a blood cleanser. Boiled, the liquid may be used as a wash or reserved to make a balm for skin disease, rheumatism, gout, and respiratory problems. The bruised leaves are useful as a poultice for bruises, sores, acne, and inflammations. A poultice may also be applied as quick remedy for poison oak or ivy. During the Middle Ages, a poultice of bruised leaves in wine was even recommended for leprosy. While there is no cure for leprosy, such a poultice would certain benefit the condition considering its other qualities.

The seeds have been used to stimulate the kidneys, and the leaves help stimulate secretions of bile. Burdock also serves to eliminate uric acid which is why it benefits certain forms of arthritis and gout. It relieves lymphatic congestion, restores liver and gallbladder function, and stimulates the immune system. Tea or a burdock tincture is recommended for stomach problems, but while a decoction or infusion of root is aperient for some, it may constipate others. An old Pennsylvanian Dutch tonic called for burdock tea made from a year old root, and this was also used as a wash for dandruff and itchy scalp.

Nutrition:
If you plan on eating burdock root, it should be harvested in the first year in June or July. It is peeled, sliced into thin strips, and boiled 30 minutes (1/4 tsp of baking soda may be added to first change of water). Then the water is changed and simmered till tender and fried with butter. You may also try mashing the root into cakes and frying them in butter. The Iroquois dried the root and used it in soups. Some people compare the flavor to artichokes while others have named asparagus. The fresh root can often be found in health stores if nowhere else because if their high mineral content.

The tender shoots may be peeled and eaten raw or in salad with oil and vinegar, and the young leaf stems are boiled or eaten raw if peeled. Young leaves are added to salads and soups, or prepared as cooked greens. The flower stalks may also be eaten before flowering once they have been peeled and cooked. They may also be simmered in sugar syrup to make candy.

Fish or game may be wrapped in Burdock leaves and left in a fire pit to cook. The roots are also collected and roasted for a coffee substitute. They maybe cut up and boiled like potatoes or fried like cutlets.

Mercantile Uses:
Because burdock readily grows in most waste places, it is seldom cultivate anywhere but Japan, though it is a popular food in some places. However, while some authors have stated horses will not browse on the leaves, my horse ate it readily as a child. Perhaps it is an acquired taste.

Burdock has been collected and frequently burned by farmers in the autumn to make fertile ash for their fields. Large amounts of burdock growing on your land generally means the soil has a low pH level, is heavy in iron, and needs calcium.

The leaves are also a good toilet paper if you’re in dire need.