Arctium minus, commonly known as lesser burdock,[2]little burdock, louse-bur, common burdock,[3]button-bur, cuckoo-button,[3] or wild rhubarb,[4] is a biennial plant native to Europe.
Arctium minus is a biennial plant growing up to 1.8 metres (6 ft) tall[5][6] and form multiple branches. It is large and bushy. The leaves are up to 50 cm (20 in) long and ovate. The lower leaves are heart-shaped and have very wavy margins. Leaves are dark green above and woolly below. It grows an extremely deep taproot, up to 30 cm (12 in) into the ground.[7][8] The plant produces flowers in its second year of growth, from July to October. The flowers are prickly and pink to purple in color. The flower heads are about 2 cm (3⁄4 in) wide, surrounded by a cluster of bracts.[5][6] The outer bracts end in hooks causing a hook-and-loop effect after the flower head dries, when the bracts will attach to humans and animals to transport the seedhead.[9]
The flowers resemble and can be easily mistaken for thistles, but burdock can be distinguished by its extremely large leaves and its hooked bracts.
The leafstalks (up to a year old), leaves,[6] and flower stalks can be eaten raw or cooked. The roots are edible boiled with a change of water,[5] though become too woody to eat in plants over a year old.[15] The leaves can also be used to make herbal tea.[6]
^John W. Thieret, William A. Niering, and Nancy C. Olmstead. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region, Revised edition. Chanticleer Press, Inc, 2001. ISBN0-375-40232-2
^Richard H. Uva, Joseph C. Neal, and Joseph M. Ditomaso. Weeds of the Northeast. Cornell University Press, 1997. ISBN0-8014-8334-4
