Arctium minus Burdock Root
Digging this root up was hard! The plant has seed balls covered in velcro style prickers. They stick to your gloves and can irritate the skin. The root is thick and goes very deep even in very rocky soil. They grow Burdock in hay bales in farms to make it easier to harvest. I got mine from my backyard and made sure to leave plants for next year. Harvesting roots kills plants so it is really important to harvest sustainably and respectfully. I harvested this root to make tincture. The leaf has also been used to wrap food for cooking in.
Burdock root helps blood disorders like gout rheumatic accumulation, and arthritis. It helps bring circulation to the skin and capillaries. It activates the immune response at the root of a boil, sore or rash, and can be helpful for eczema. Difficulty with oil digestion can also cause dry skin and Burdock assists with this.
Burdock is also highly nutritive and can aid in chronic illness and malnutrition. Due to its diuretic action it improves vitality by clearing the blood, liver, and kidneys of toxins. It is also a great bitter to aid in digestion. Overall, it is magnificent in all chronic skin conditions, aids in skin, blood, liver, and kidney toxin excretion, and helps digestion and assimilation of fats.
Some people may develop a rash when using Burdock but this is usually due to an underlying source of irritation that has yet been discovered in the diet or environment. This can include a pharmaceutical or food allergen. A Rash can also happen when taking too much Burdock.
Sourced from my school’s Commonwealth Herbs Materia Medica, Boston, Ma
#herbalism #herbalist #greenwitch #burdock #artiumminus
The Adoring Crow 