Burdock

Burdock
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Asterales Family: Asteraceae Genus: Arctium
Species
Arctium lappa Arctium minus Arctium tomentosum Arctium vulgare

Burdock refers any of a group of perennial flowering plants in the Genus Arctium — thistles in the Family Asteraceae. 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 generally 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. A soft drink has long been marketed in the United Kingdom under the name "Dandelion and Burdock", but it is not clear whether its manufacture still involves either plant.

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

A large number of species have been placed in genus Arctium at one time or another, but most of them are now classified in the related genus Cousinia.