Burdock plant profile
Great Burdock - or Burdock - will likely bring you back to childhood memories, most notably for her habit of ensnaring you in her velcro-esque burrs, happily spreading her seeds by way of shoe laces, pant legs, or the furry limbs of unknowing travelers who stumble upon her.
Burdock is what’s known as a nourishing herb or “wild weed,” found abundantly in nature, resilient, and deeply nutritive. Nourishing herbs are part of the safest class of herbs and therefore is safe to use over long periods of time as a daily infusion or food medicine.
Latin Name: Arctium lappa
Common Name: Burdock
Part(s) Used: Root, leaves
Energetics: Sweet, Cooling, Slightly bitter
Herbal Actions: Diuretic, detoxifier, lymphatic, nutritive, alterative, bitter tonic
Energetically, like a lot of root medicine, Burdock is skilled at grounding us and creating feelings of safety. She brings tremendous healing to the root chakra, helping us to relax and feel the weight and density of our bodies.
She tends to hold a masculine energy (although not always!) and is healing to the masculine parts of ourselves and especially supportive of trauma involving fathers or wounded expressions of masculine energy.
This hardy plant is a strong detoxifier and gentle mover that helps to clear old and stagnant energy, grudges, resentment, and anger. She helps us in cultivating a “cool/level head” in situations or stress and in becoming more patient and intentional when responding to challenges and frustrations in our lives.
Medicinally, she has a strong affinity for the liver and lymphatic system, including purifying the blood and supporting the skin - clearing acne, eczema, and brightening and cleansing from the inside out. She stimulates the liver, “unearthing and clearing out the old shit” and helping us to release anger, which in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is said to be held in the liver.
Burdock encourages movement, especially when used as a laxative or to improve digestion. She contains inulin, a prebiotic fiber that can improve gut health and digestion as inulin acts as a food source for helpful gut bacteria. She is also adept at kidney support and particularly cool and cleansing to the bladder.
Personally, Burdock is one of my most beloved, dependable plant allies when I need deep grounding and a return to the present moment. The nutty, earthy smell of her infusing or decocting in my kitchen signals the beginning of fall and supports my body and mind’s transition to the shorter days and waning seasonal energies of Autumn.
She is an absolute queen when it comes to brightening my skin. Her cooling and detoxifying qualities made a huge difference in my dry, sensitive skin, and even helped diminish my experience of breakouts during my menstrual cycle. I’ve also used her for bladder inflammation and pain from cystitis or UTIs and she’s been fantastic, although Hibiscus is also a very strong ally to keep in your back pocket for the same afflictions.
Harvesting: Dig up roots after the first year and frost (late fall or early spring, she is a biennial) and use tender leaves for food medicine in spring. Always be mindful where you harvest! Many herbs (but especially this one) pull toxins and pollutants from the air and soil so do not collect roadside, near driplines, cemetaries, or industrial areas.
Cultivation: Burdock will spread easily and quickly. You can break open her burrs after the flowers have died and spread her seed wherever you want - but take note! She will spread far and wide sometimes take over, especially in ditches and hillsides.
Herbal Preparation Like most of the nourishing herbs, Burdock likes to be used as a daily, overnight infusion or added to a chicory herbal “coffee” (anima mundi sells a wonderful one called happiness tonic powder) used over time. She is yet like most herbs and especially the nourishing herbs, needs daily devotion and time to work her magic.
I love to make her as a Burdock Chai for warming me in the mornings. I have included my recipe for you here.
A final note on Burdock:
“On the psychological level, Burdock helps us to deal with our worries about the unknown, the “Hedge Ruffians,” the bears, which lurk in the dark woods beyond our control. It seizes upon deep, complex issues, penetrates to the core and brings up old memories and new answers. It gives us the faith to move ahead on our path, despite the unknown problems which may ensnare us along the way. It helps the person who is afraid become more hardy, while it brings the hardy wanderer back to his original path. It restores vigor and momentum.”
- Matthew Wood, The Book of Herbal Wisdom
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