Arctium

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Genus of flowering plants

title: "Arctium" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["arctium", "asteraceae-genera", "medicinal-plants", "root-vegetables", "stem-vegetables", "botanical-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeus"] description: "Genus of flowering plants" topic_path: "general/arctium" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctium" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of flowering plants ::

|name = Burdock |image = Villtakjas 2008.jpg |image_caption = Arctium tomentosum |display_parents = 3 |taxon = Arctium |authority = L. |type_species = Arctium lappa |type_species_authority = L. |synonyms = |Lappa |Scop. |Anura |(Juz.) Tschern. |Arcion |Bubani |Bardana |Hill |Hypacanthium |Juz. |Schmalhausenia |C.Winkl. |synonyms_ref =

Arctium is a genus of biennial plants commonly known as burdock, family Asteraceae. Native to Europe and Asia, several species have been widely introduced worldwide. Burdock's clinging properties, in addition to providing an excellent mechanism for seed dispersal, led to the invention of the hook-and-loop fastener.

Description

Plants of the genus Arctium have dark green leaves that can grow up to 70 cm long. They are generally large, coarse, and ovate, with the lower ones being heart-shaped. They are woolly underneath. The leafstalks are generally hollow. Arctium species generally flower from July through October. Burdock flowers provide essential pollen and nectar for honeybees around August, when clover is on the wane and before the goldenrod starts to bloom.

|Burdock Hooks.jpg|Hooked burrs |Bur Macro.jpg|Macro photograph of a bur, showing the sharp hook structures |Burdock Closeup.jpg|Closeup of burdock |Burdock Bush.jpg|Burdock bush |ArctiumLappa1.jpg|Arctium lappa (greater burdock) |BurdockLeafInHand.gif|A 180 cm tall man holding a leaf

Taxonomy

In 1753, the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus established genus Arctium by recognizing two species: Arctium lappa and Arctium personata. The type specimen Arctium lappa was collected from a cultivated waste area in Europe ("habitat in Europae cultis ruderatis"). , the name Arctium personata is a synonym for Carduus personata.

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. The precise limits between Arctium and Cousinia are hard to define; there is an exact relation between their molecular phylogeny. The burdocks are sometimes confused with the cockleburs (genus Xanthium) and rhubarb (genus Rheum).

Accepted species

The following species are accepted:

Botanists disagree about the number of taxa introduced into North America but most authorities accept at least the following three species: Arctium lappa, Arctium minus, and Arctium tomentosum. The influential Flora of North America and others accept only those three species. In addition to three species, some authorities accept one or more hybrids. The United States Department of Agriculture accepts a fourth species, Arctium vulgare.

Etymology

Circa 16th century, from bur + dock, the latter meaning sorrel of the genus Rumex.

Distribution and habitat

All Arctium species are native to Europe and/or Asia but several species have been widely introduced. In Eurasia, native Arctium species range from Greenland to Siberia in the north, and from Macaronesia to Peninsular Malaysia in the south. Two species are native to China.

Arctium species have been introduced on four continents: Asia, Australia, North America, and South America. Two species have been introduced to New Zealand.

Ecology

The roots of burdock, among other plants, are eaten by the larva of the ghost moth (Hepialus humuli). The plant is used as a food plant by other Lepidoptera including brown-tail, Coleophora paripennella, Coleophora peribenanderi, the Gothic, lime-speck pug and scalloped hazel.

The prickly heads of burdock (burs) are noted for easily catching on to fur and clothing. Thus the bur is an excellent mechanism for seed dispersal. In England, some birdwatchers have reported that birds have become entangled in the burs leading to a slow death, as they are unable to free themselves.

Toxicity

The green, above-ground portions may cause contact dermatitis in individual with allergies as the plant contains lactones.

Uses

Food and drink

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Burdockgobo.jpg" caption="kinpira gobō]]}}, consisting of sautéed burdock root and carrot, with a side of sautéed dried daikon"] ::

The taproot of young burdock plants can be harvested and eaten as a root vegetable. While generally out of favour in modern European cuisine, it is popular in East Asia. Arctium lappa is known as zh (牛蒡) in Chinese, the same name having been borrowed into Japanese as ja, and is eaten in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. In Korean, burdock root is called ko (우엉) and sold as ko (통우엉), or "whole burdock". Plants are cultivated for their slender roots, which can grow up to about one metre long and two centimetres across. Burdock root is very crisp and has a sweet, mild, or pungent flavour with a little muddy harshness that can be reduced by soaking julienned or shredded roots in water for five to ten minutes. The roots have been used as potato substitutes in Russia.

Immature flower stalks may also be harvested in late spring, before flowers appear; their taste resembles that of artichoke, to which the burdock is related. The stalks are thoroughly peeled, and either eaten raw, or boiled in salt water. Leaves are also eaten in spring in Japan when a plant is young and leaves are soft. Some A. lappa cultivars are specialized for this purpose. A popular Japanese dish is ja (金平牛蒡), julienned or shredded burdock root and carrot, braised with soy sauce, sugar, mirin and/or sake, and sesame oil. Another is burdock makizushi (sushi filled with pickled burdock root; the burdock root is often artificially coloured orange to resemble a carrot).

In the second half of the 20th century, burdock achieved international recognition for its culinary use due to the increasing popularity of the macrobiotic diet, which advocates its consumption. It contains a fair amount of dietary fiber (GDF, 6 g per 100 g), calcium, potassium, and amino acids, and is low in calories. It contains the prebiotic fiber inulin. It contains a polyphenol oxidase, which causes its darkened surface and muddy harshness by forming tannin-iron complexes. Burdock root's harshness harmonizes well with pork in miso soup (tonjiru) and with Japanese-style pilaf (takikomi gohan).

Dandelion and burdock is a soft drink that has long been popular in the United Kingdom; it has its origins in hedgerow mead commonly drunk in the mediæval period. Burdock is believed to be a galactagogue, a substance that increases lactation, but it is sometimes recommended to be avoided during pregnancy based on animal studies that show components of burdock to cause uterus stimulation.

In Europe, burdock root was used as a bittering agent in beer before the widespread adoption of hops for this purpose.

Traditional medicine

The seeds of A. lappa are used in traditional Chinese medicine under the name zh (; some dictionaries list the Chinese as just ).

Burdock is a traditional medicinal herb used for many ailments. Burdock root oil extract, also called bur oil, is used in Europe as a scalp treatment.

In culture

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Burdock_Kilim_Motifs.jpg" caption="Burdock [[kilim motifs"] ::

In Turkish Anatolia, the burdock plant was believed to ward off the evil eye, and as such is often a motif appearing woven into kilims for protection. With its many flowers, the plant also symbolizes abundance. Before and during World War II, Japanese soldiers were issued a 15-1/2-inch bayonet held in a black-painted scabbard, the juken. Their nickname was the burdock sword (gobo ken).

Mary Palmer's mid 18th century Devonshire Dialogue records the burrs of the plant being known in Devon, England, as "bachelor's-buttons".

The English folk artist Nancy Kerr refers to "The Land of Santa Georgia where the Banks of Burdocks Grow" in her song Santa Georgia, supposedly representing the relationship between country and city in modern England (especially Sheffield).

Burdock Everdeen from the Hunger Games is named after this plant.

Inspiration for velcro

After taking his dog for a walk one day in the late 1940s (1948), George de Mestral, a Swiss inventor, became curious about the seeds of the burdock plant that had attached themselves to his clothes and to the dog's fur. Under a microscope, he looked closely at the hook system that the seeds use to hitchhike on passing animals aiding seed dispersal, and he realized that the same approach could be used to join other things together. His work led to the development of the hook and loop fastener, which was initially sold under the Velcro brand name.

Serbo-Croatian uses the same word, čičak, for burdock and velcro; Turkish does the same with the name pitrak, while in the Polish language rzep means both "burr" and "velcro". The German word for burdock is Klette and velcro is Klettverschluss (= burdock fastener). In Norwegian burdock is borre and velcro borrelås, which translates to "burdock lock".

References

Bibliography

References

  1. ''Collins Dictionary''
  2. (August 2012). "Chapter Begins Burdock Removal Project". Sacajawea Audubon Society.
  3. (July 2014). "Contact dermatitis as an adverse reaction to some topically used European herbal medicinal products - part 1: Achillea millefolium-Curcuma longa.". Contact Dermatitis.
  4. Nyerges, Christopher. (2017). "Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods". Falcon Guides.
  5. (1978). "Edible Garden Weeds of Canada". National Museum of Natural Sciences.
  6. "ゴボウの皮はむかないのが"新常識" (06/01/19) - ニュース - nikkei BPnet".
  7. (1 February 2018). "Prebiotic effects of inulin extracted from burdock (Arctium lappa) in broilers". Arquivos do Instituto Biológico.
  8. Extraction, Partial Characterization, and Inhibition Patterns of Polyphenol Oxidase from Burdock (Arctium lappa). Mie S. Lee-Kim, Eun S. Hwang and Kyung H. Kim, Enzymatic Browning and Its Prevention, Chapter 21, pp. 267–276, {{doi. 10.1021/bk-1995-0600.ch021
  9. "Mead Recipes: Dandelion and Burdock Beer". Dyfed Lloyd Evans.
  10. (July 20, 2010). "Burdock (Arctium lappa): MedlinePlus Supplements". Nlm.nih.gov.
  11. (2017). "Effect of burdock extract on physical performance and physiological fatigue in mice". J Vet Med Sci.
  12. Balch, Phyllis A.. (2002-01-01). "Prescription for Herbal Healing". Penguin.
  13. Erbek, Güran. (1998). "Kilim Catalogue No. 1". May Selçuk A. S..
  14. "Fifty Verses".
  15. Spiegel, Max. "Lyr Add: Santa Georgia".
  16. Strauss, Steven D.. (December 2001). "The Big Idea: How Business Innovators Get Great Ideas to Market". Kaplan Business.
  17. "čičak". Znanje d.d. and Srce.
  18. "rzep - definicja, synonimy, przykłady użycia".
  19. "Klettverschluss".
  20. "Borrelås".
  21. {{BONAP. (2014)
  22. {{eFloras. 1. 102484. Arctium
  23. {{eFloras. 2. 102484. Arctium
  24. (2025). "''Arctium'' {{small". University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden.
  25. {{IPNI. L.
  26. {{ITIS. L.
  27. "Searched: "Arctium" in scientific name". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network.
  28. "''Arctium'' {{small".
  29. "''Arctium personata'' {{small".
  30. {{PLANTS
  31. "''Arctium'' {{small". Database of Canadian Vascular Plants (VASCAN).

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