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Lesser burdock

Arctium minus

Also called Common burdock, Cuckoo Button, Lesser Burrdock, Beggar's Button, Burdock, Small Burdock, Smaller Burdock

Lesser burdock
Photo: HoosierMan1816, CC BY 4.0

Lesser burdock is a biennial plant with huge leaves and prickly, hook-tipped flower heads that cling to clothing and fur. It is a weedy, wild plant that grows easily in disturbed soil and is grown mainly for its edible stalks and roots.

Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water moderately during dry spells; the deep taproot makes it fairly drought tolerant once established.
Soil
Deep, well-drained, fertile soil; tolerates poor and disturbed ground.
Temperature
Hardy in temperate climates; tolerates cold winters.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Macaronesia, NW. Africa, Europe to Afghanistan
Climate
temperate

About

Arctium minus, commonly known as lesser burdock, little burdock, louse-bur, common burdock, button-bur, cuckoo-button, or wild rhubarb, is a biennial plant native to Europe.

Where it grows

The plant is native to Europe, but has become introduced elsewhere such as Australia, North and South America, and other places.

Uses

The leafstalks (up to a year old), leaves, and flower stalks can be eaten raw or cooked. The roots are edible boiled with a change of water, though become too woody to eat in plants over a year old. The leaves can also be used to make herbal tea.

Other Arctium plants

Greater burdock · Burdock

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Arctium minus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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