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The
herb's etymology is obvious: "bur" originating from
the French word "bourre" meaning woolly, and the
word dock is an Old English word denoting any large-leafed
plant. However, another theory alleges that in medieval England,
when the use of French was still widespread from the Norman
invasion, farmwomen used to wrap their butter in the big leaves
of burdock to maintain its freshness en route to market. So
bur-dock may have evolved from "beurre (butter) dock."
The tenacity of the herb's burs is well known. Indeed, the
Swiss inventor, George de Mestral, perfected Velcro after
studying the bur's innumerable tiny hooks under his magnifying
glass.
Burdock is a large herb - it can grow as high as two meters
and as wide as one meter. It blooms from mid-July to September,
with round, purple flower heads on stalks a meter long. The
flowers mature into the spherical, brown-gray burs.
Burdock grows easily from seed and is bothered by no pests,
however if you plan on planting burdock in your garden for
medicinal or culinary use, be aware that the herb can become
very invasive. If you want to harvest the roots - which can
grow to one meter in length - plant them in friable, rich
soil. Some gardeners add copious amounts of wood shavings
or other loose material to facilitate their harvesting, which
- as with all roots crops - is best done in the fall to maximize
nutritional content. Burdock prefers a location with full
sun.
Burdock is one of the principal detoxifying herbs in both
Western and Chinese herbal medicine. It is an excellent blood
purifier and will help cleanse the body of waste products,
including heavy metals and uric acid. The latter quality makes
burdock a superior herb for the treatment of arthritis and
gout. Several recent studies have confirmed burdock's popular
reputation as an anti-tumor herb. It is one of the four ingredients
in the Essaic anti-cancer tea blend. Canadian nurse, Renee
Caisse, who acquired the recipe from a First Nations' healer,
refined this celebrated formula.
Burdock's antibiotic, anti-fungal and demulcent qualities
have proven valuable in the treatment of skin disorders, especially
when toxicity is a factor. Taken internally and applied topically,
it has been used to successfully medicate acne, boils, eczema
and psoriasis.
The herb works through the bitter stimulation of the digestive
juices and especially of bile secretion. Because of this it
will assist appetite and digestion. It has been used successfully
in treating anorexia nervosa and similar conditions, to help
the kidneys work efficiently and to heal cystitis. In general,
burdock promotes overall health and will effectively correct
symptoms of the body's imbalance such as skin problems and
dandruff. Topically, it can be used with success as a compress
or poultice to accelerate the healing of wounds.
The Japanese are very fond of burdock, although the herb is
rarely used in Western kitchens. The young stalks can be peeled
and steamed like asparagus and the young leaves can be cooked
like spinach. The very young leaves may even be added raw
to a salad. The herb is quite nutritious, being high in chromium,
iron, magnesium, silicon and thiamine (vitamin B1).
When camping, an excellent wild-crafted, nutritious vegetable
may be added to your meal as follows:
Roasted Burdock
Roll whole, cleaned burdock roots in fresh, young burdock
leaves, wrap them in aluminum foil and roast them in the hot
ashes of your campfire for about one hour. Lightly salt them
or, even better, sprinkle them with soy sauce.
Burdock
Roots in Soy Sauce
Cut desired quantity of peeled burdock roots into long pieces
the width of matchsticks. Just cover with water in a heavy
saucepan with a generous splash of soy sauce. Bring to boil
and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and continue
simmering until most of the liquid has cooked away and the
burdock has absorbed the soy sauce. Remove from heat before
the burdock sticks to the pan. Serve with Japanese or other
Asian food.
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