Burdock

[Kim]

Greetings plant lovers,

I'm on the forage for Burdock and although I'm pretty sure I know what it looks like, do any of you inventive people have any unusual/practical tips that may help me on my quest.

Many thanks.

P.S I now have a fantastic little herb garden growing very nicely on my sunny windowsill. Nothing to do with my foraging question but it's still dead exciting cos I used some on my pasta the other day, plus some sorrell I picked from the local woods. :hyper:

 

[Richie]

If I rememeber rightly burdock is only around for two years and the root is only edible in the first year when it is storing energy for it's flower. If the flower is present then it is in it's second year and not really edible.

The leaves make for good loo paper as well

I'm sure there are others here that can tell you more

Regards

Richie

 

[Tantalus]

never tried it though i remember throwing burrs at other kids as a youngster

hmmmm in fact i still throw em at kids when i find em :roll:

little video from the US which may be helpful

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/TV.Pages/BurdockTV.html

though i would read up on specific uk species before taking it too much further

Tant

 

[dtalbot]

never tried it though i remember throwing burrs at other kids as a youngster



though i would read up on specific uk species before taking it too much further

Tant

Yep,
My older two (9 and 4) have discovered the burdock burrs in the wildlife corner of the garden and keep attaching them to littlest (6 months)!
David

 

[jakunen]

Fairly easy to ID.
Leaves are grey-green, heart shaped, downy and up to about 30 inches.
Tall flower stem to around 5 foot(ish) with purple thistle like flowers.
Its best cropped at the start of the second year, before it throws up the flowering stem. It tastes best then.

You can use the root (goes down up to 4 or 5 feet), in a lot of ways - roasted, diced in stews and soups, etc.
http://ganesh.physic...ology/plants/burdock.html

 

[Kim]

Thanks,

the roots meant to be very good for the digestion and the liver apparently.

 

[Tantalus]

sorry to be such a pest

but if it has purple flowers and a 5 foot stem

how do you recognise it before the purple flowers and 5 foot stem appear.......i.e when it is at its best for eating?

ummmmm and the link wont work for me either

Tant

 

[jakunen]

Ok, try this link,http://ganesh.physics.lsa...y/images/burdock.jpg

You just have to rely on IDing the leaves. I've nto come across anything quite like them in this country.

The roots are indeed good for the digestion etc. The Dandelion and Burdock soft drink was, like coca-cola, originally a tonic.

 

[Tantalus]

http://ganesh.physics.lsa...y/images/burdock.jpg

nope not for me anyway

 

[jakunen]

Bugger. Ok, I'll try to find anotehr link.

That Works!

http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/crops/facts/ontweeds/common_burdock.htm

 

[Tantalus]

thanks jakunen much appreciated

i did a little trawling too and came up with a couple of warnings which was the main reason i was asking bout pics

first was that it has been confused with deadly nightshade (belladonna) growing close to it- i assume the belladonna leaves were picked by accident and got included in a herbal tea of sorts

http://herbalmusings.com/Burdock.htm

next was the possibility of confusing it with wild poisonous rhubarb

http://www.survivaliq.com/survival/edible-and-medicinal-plants-burdock.htm

and confusion with cocklebur

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/plant02.htm

tho i am not even sure cocklebur occurs in the uk

i hope i dont put anyone off trying this stuff just emphasising the importance of correct identification which is not always as simple when using info from books or the web. Especially the web as many sites are not uk specific and do not take into account local variations encountered in the uk

Tant

 

[Kim]

You're right Tant, don't want to be eating anything that's gonna get me well, sort of dead or vomiting, quite frankly.

Thanks for all the links Jakunen.

Despite all the info you can get from books and other sources, I always like to ask people if I'm not sure, hence this link. There's always someone out there who knows a trick or tip or two, the kind that, somehow, never ends up in a book.

Keep em comin!!!

 

[jakunen]

Tant:
can't quite see how they got the nightshade in there, but guess if you're not careful you could add some when you grab a handful...
I don't know of cockleburr growing over here. COudl be wrong, btu never coem across it...

Wild rhubarb has darker, glossy leaves, like the cultivated ones, AFAIA, so you should be able to distinguish it from the paler, downy burdock. The underside of the burdock tends to be grey as well, whereas rhubarb is green, IIRC.

Kim:
Books, whilst being very good sources of information, can be confusing, or misleading.
I have a few US books that say that Jack-in-the-Pulpit is edible, but as far as I can tell, it is a closely related cousin of our Jack-in-the-pulpit/Cuckoo-pint/Lords-and-Ladies, which AFAIA is highly poisonous and can't be eaten in anyway...

 

[dtalbot]

Yep,
I can understand the belladona confusion as I've seen them growing together, but wild rhubarb?????????? But as always better safe than sorry (or dead) there are plenty of things growing in our countryside that will make you very dead (or wishing you were).
Cheers
David

 

[jakunen]

Double checked on the way to work this morning. Burdock has a silvery/grey-green underside.

I hate it when I can't remember something I should KNOW!

One other point with the wild rhubard, the root is quite different, not being as straight and has a brown papery sheath IIRC as opposed to the sort of tan coloured skin of the burdock. Oh yeah, and the rhubarb root has a similar red tinge to it like the cultivated one. (Yes, I did cheat and look in a book to confirm what I knew...)

 

[match]

The easiest way to find Burdock is to find one then wait a year!

At the end of the 2nd year, the plants throw up huge flower stems, which are burry and quite thistle-like, and these eventually die and dry out. However, since the seeds are only distributed by contact, they can remain intact for several months or even years. However, you will almost always find others will grow up around the old dead stem the next year, and you can then go back and harvest these tasty roots!

But if you're not willing to wait that long, you can dig up the plants just as the flowers are beginning to appear - however, the root will have reduced in size by this point, and may be a bit too woody to enjoy...