Nearly everyone has had a brush with burdock. If you live on the east coast of North America, Canada, or in the European countryside, a walk through the autumn woods is often rewarded with the stubborn seed heads returning on socks and sweaters. Shakespeare's Rosalind, of As You Like It, complained "How full of briers is this working day world!" and was met with Celia's retort of "They are but burs, cousin, thrown upon thee in holiday foolery. If we walk not in the trodden paths, our very petticoats will catch them." Great Burdock (Arctium lappa) is the European biennial, native to Siberia, and now naturalized in damp areas of the northern U.S. A smaller version, Arctium minus, is also found flourishing among wayside patches of American and European soil. Both types sport round heads of purple flowers, which bloom from August to September, and the familiar hooked bracts or burrs that allow the plant to distribute itself via birds, animals, and people.
While many find the adherence of the brown seed-burrs menacing, it was of great technical interest to the Swiss inventor, George de Mestral. George was in the habit of taking long walks through the countryside with his dog, who often returned with burrs in his fur. When George inspected the burrs closely under magnifying glass, he noted the hundreds of tiny hooks that enabled the seed to hold onto an object. After experimenting with plastic models, designed to mimic the burrs action, George eventually presented the world with that indispensable self-adhesive fastener: Velcro.TM
You may be surprised to learn that burdock is quite edible, cooked or raw. The leaves and flowers can be steamed as vegetables, or served with oil and vinegar as a salad. Generally, burdock stems are prepared by carefully peeling away the tough, bitter tasting outer rind. The remaining tender pith is usually sliced and boiled in water as a vegetable, added to soups, or thinly sliced and served raw in salads. The tender pith of the young stems were once made into a popular confection in some parts of Europe.
The Iroquois considered burdock root an important winter food, and it was commonly dried and stored after harvesting for use in the long, cold months ahead. In addition, the roots are sometimes roasted and ground as a coffee substitute. Burdock is commonly found in the markets of Japan, Taiwan, and Hawaii. Japanese markets and health food stores supply the fresh young taproots, which they call gobo. In fact, burdock is as common a vegetable in Japan as the potato is to westerners, and the young roots are commonly served raw, or added to soups and stir-fries. A Russian dish calls for wrapping fish in fresh burdock leaves and roasting in a pit of hot coals.
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