Even Burdock Is Useful

Reader Contribution by Keba M Hitzeman
Published on August 24, 2020
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A trip to the garden the other evening to harvest potatoes led to a learning experience that I wasn’t expecting. As I’m turning soil to bring the last rows of potatoes to the surface, I slowly process the hum coming from the perennial garden on the other side of the fence. Straightening up, all I see is a giant mess of weeds in the center part (the weather turned hot, and except for the area around each of the perennials, the maintenance stopped)  – chicory, aster, some jimson, ragweed. And burdock. Lots and lots of burdock.

Chances are, you’ve had an experience with this member of the Asteraceae family that was the inspiration for our modern hook-and-loop (brand name “Velcro”) fasteners. The plants (at least on my farm) can grow over five feet tall, and the leaves at the base can be three feet in diameter. After flowering, the heads turn into those horrible, clothes-grabbing, fur-tangling seedpots. I’m convinced that those burrs are magnetic and/or heat-seeking, especially when it comes to getting caught up in animal hair and wool. I’ve walked pastures over and over in a season, and just when I think I’ve found all the burdock plants and removed them, the dogs or sheep will walk by, and I’ll see burrs on them that weren’t there before. It’s completely maddening, and I cut them down or pull them out wherever I see them around the farm. It’s a never-ending job, but it beats pulling them out of wool and fur after they are already attached.

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