Encyclopedia > Burdock

  Article Content

Burdock

Burdock illustration from Project Runebergs edition of "Bilder ur Nordens Flora".

Burdock, any of the Arctium genus of perennial flowering plants in the thistle[?] family. Burdock grows wild throughout most of Europe and Asia, where it is noted primarily for its burrs that cling to clothing and hair.

The taproot[?] of young burdock plants can be harvested and eaten like parsnip[?]; while out of favor in modern European cuisine it remains popular in Asian cuisine. Immature flower stalks may also be harvested in late spring, before flowers appear; the taste resembles artichoke, to which the burdock is related.

Folk herbalists consider dried burdock to be a diuretic, diaphoretic, and a blood purifying agent.



All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

 
  Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!
 
 
  
  Featured Article
Reformed churches

... and smaller denominations such as the Free Church of Scotland[?] and the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland[?] The Presbyterian Church in Ireland serves the whole of ...

 
 
 
This page was created in 42.5 ms