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Beggar's Buttons | | Name : | Beggar's Buttons | | Synonyms : | Bardana
Beggar'sButtons
BurdockBurrs
BurrSeed
Burrs
Cocklebur
Clodbur
Clotbur
Clothburr
Grassburdock
Greatburdock
Hardock
Hareburr
Hurrburr
Lappa
Lappaminor
Niubang (Chinese name)
Personata
Thornyburr
Turkeyburrseed
| | Parts Used : | Roots, leaves and seeds, the whole plant | | Habitat : | Found in the northern United States and in Europe, along fences,walls, and roadsides, in waste places, and around populated areas.A wide-spread Eurasian weed used in traditional medicine in China,Japan, Europe, and North America. | | Description : | Burdock is a biennial plant 2-9 feet tall; the root is long, fleshy,gray-brown outside, and whitish inside. In its second year, the plantgrows a furrowed, reddish, pithy stem with woolly branches. Duringthe first year burdock has only basal leaves. Both basal and stemleaves are oblong-cordate, heart-shaped, green and hairy on top anddowny gray beneath. The purple, thistle-like flowers, 1-1 1/2 inchesacross, appear in corymbose clusters from July to September. The flowersare long-stalked, in flat-topped clusters. Seedpods (familiar burrs)stick to clothing.
Common Burdock (Arctium minus) is smaller than A. lappa; 2-5 feet.Leaf stems hollow, not furrowed. Flowers smaller (3/4 inch across)without stalks or short stalked; July to Oct. Used extensively byNative Americans. The root and seed have a sweetish, slimy taste,the leaves and stems are bitter. | | Constituents : | Arctin, biotin, copper, inulin, volitile oils, sulfur, tannins, iron,manganese, vitamins B1, B6, B12, and E, and zinc.
Seeds contain essential fatty acids, vitamins A, B2
Alterative, antipyretic, aperient, cholagogue, demulcent, diaphoretic,diuretic, tonic | | Uses : | Helps skin disorders, diaperrash, cradle cap, gout. Purifiesthe blood, restores liver and gallbladder function, kidney, andbladder disorders, syphilis,gonorrhea, diabetes.Relives inflammation.This herb is not narcotic.
The decoction or infusion of burdock root is aperient, but not forall individuals; for some it may even be constipative.Both the tea and the tincture can be used for stomach ailments. Burdockis also said to neutralize and eliminate poisons in the system. Theleaves are not generally used but do contain a substance that stimulatesthe secretion of bile. If they are to be used for liver problems,use fresh leaves only. A decoction of leaves also makes a good washfor sores and may be helpfulfor acne. The fresh, bruised leavesare sometimes used as a remedy for poison oak or poison ivy. The seedscontain an oil that is used medically, but only with medical supervision.Traditionally, root tea (2 oz. dried root in 1 qt. water) is usedas a 'blood purifier', diuretic, stimulates bile secretion, sweating,gout, liver and kidney ailments,nephritis, hypertension,edema, rheumatism, lumbago.Nicholas Culpeper, the famous 17th century herbalist, wrote that it'helpeth those that are bit by a mad dog.'
In China, a tea of leafy branches was used for vertigo, rheumatism,swollen lymph glands,impotence, and (in tea mixedwith brown sugar) for measles.Externally, used as a wash for hives,eczema, and other skin eruptions.Seeds are diuretic; used for abscesses,canker sores, sorethroats, fever, insectand snake bites, flu,gonorrhea, leprosy, scrofula,sciatica, backache; once usedto treat scarlet fever, smallpox, and scrofula. Crushed seeds poulticedon bruises. Leaves poulticed on burns,wounds, ringworm,ulcers, styes, boils,sores. Japanese studies suggestroots contain compounds that may curb mutations (and hence cancer?). | | Dosage : | Collect the root in the spring or fall of the second year; when theplant has a stem. The root may be used fresh or dried.
Burdock poultice: it is good on old skin ulcers (SEE ULCERS)and sores (SEE SORES). Make the poultice of the root, adding a tsp.of salt; it eases the pain of a wound caused by the bite of a dog.The leaves wilted by the fire, and applied to an external injury,will stop inflammation and ease pain; pounded and put on to a bruiseor sprain, it will give immediate relief.
Decoction: use 1 tsp. root with 1 cup cold water. Let standfor 5 hours, then bring to a boil. Take 1 cup a day.
Tincture: Take 10-25 drops, in water, camomile tea, or regulartea, 3-4 times a day.
Juice: Grate the fresh root and add half again as much water.Squeeze out the liquid. Drink 1 cup a day, a mouthful at a time. | | Safety : | Leaf hairs may irritate skin. Do not confuse leaves with the toxicleaves of Rhubarb. Care should be taken if anemia exists. | | Myths : | This easily-grown plant is quite invasive. Was used as a blood purifieras far back as Shakespeare's time; it is now used as a root vegetable,it has a taste that combines potatoes and celery.
Once widely used in cleansing remedies, burdock is familiar for itshooked burrs, which readily attach themselves to clothing. This propertyis reflected in the herb's botanical name, from the Greek arktos,or bear, suggesting rough-coated fruits, and lappa, to seize. Burdockwas a traditional blood purifier, often combined in fold brews suchas dandelion and burdock wine, and it was once popular for indigestion.In China, the seeds, niu bang zi, are used to dispel 'wind and heatevils'; they also lower blood sugar levels.
Sometimes planted in Japan, where it has been improved by cultivationfor its enlarged parsnip-like roots, which are eaten as a boiled vegetable.
Sometimes planted in Japan, where it has been improved by cultivationfor its enlarged parsnip-like roots, which are eaten as a boiled vegetable.Burdock is a common European weed; was brought to America as a medicinalplant. It soon became widely scattered, because the burdock seedsattached themselves to colonists' breeches, clothes and the fur ofanimals. Millspaugh wrote, 'the herb is so rank that man, the jackass,and the caterpillar are the only animals that will eat it.' | | Nutrient : | Iron, manganese, vitamins B1, B6, B12, and E, and zinc. | | Sold : | Juice: Grate the fresh root and add half again as much water.Squeeze out the liquid. Drink 1 cup a day, a mouthful at a time.
Powder: use 1/2 tsp. twice daily in a glass of water.
Capsules: take 1 to 3 daily.
Extract: mix 10 to 25 drops of extract in liquid daily. |
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