The name 'arctium lappa' is from Greek 'arktos', which means 'bear', and Labein 'lappa', which means 'take, stick'. Its name already means that this is a species that sticks to clothes. Burdock is biennial herbaceous plant growing abundatly from the coast to the foothills in uncultivated places. The basal leaves are large, arranged in a rosette, dark green on the upper side and silvery gray on the other side. The stem leaves, meanwhile, are smaller. The special feature of the burdock is given by their hooked heads that attach to clothes and especially the skin of the animals that graze around, thus allowing the plant to spread quickly, anywhere.
The fruits are achenes equipped with pappus. Medicine is made from the roots and leaves. The roots are collected in the spring and autumn, cleaned, cut into strips, dried in an oven or with the sunshine, then stored in glass jars or cloth sacks. On the other hand, the leaves, which are not used as widely as the roots, are collected during the spring. The burdock has many uses in medication, such as to prevent arthritis, fever, infections, boils, and to increase iron levels in your blood thanks to the high iron content. In folk, it was used for the treatment of cradle cap, ringworm, rheumatic pains and burns, hair fall, snake venom or bites of rabid dogs, etc. Another use is scalp massage, which is believed to be beneficial to your skin and to promote circulation lymphatic blood. The infusion is prepared by placing a handful of roots in a cup of boiled water and is served in the morning. The stems, which is collected before flowering, can be used fresh with salad or boiled as a vegetable or seasoned. The leaves can be used with other vegetables in soups. In Eastern cuisine (especially Japan where it has become a popular vegetable with the name 'gobo'), there is a number of traditional food recipes using this plant.
Notes
La flora officinale nel Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano
Regione Campania, 2001 "Schede monografiche delle principali essenze officinali coltivate e spontanee" opuscolo divulgativo