Arctium is agenus ofbiennial plants commonly known asburdock, familyAsteraceae. Native to Europe and Asia, several species have been widely introduced worldwide. Burdock's clinging properties, in addition to providing an excellent mechanism forseed dispersal, led to the invention of thehook-and-loop fastener.
Plants of the genusArctium have dark green leaves that can grow up to 70 centimetres (28 inches) long. They are generally large, coarse, and ovate, with the lower ones being heart-shaped. They are woolly underneath. The leafstalks are generally hollow.Arctium species generally flower from July through October. Burdock flowers provide essential pollen and nectar for honeybees around August, when clover is on the wane and before the goldenrod starts to bloom.[3]
In 1753, the Swedish botanistCarl Linnaeus establishedgenusArctium by recognizing twospecies:Arctium lappa andArctium personata. Thetype specimenArctium lappa was collected from a cultivated waste area in Europe ("habitat in Europae cultis ruderatis").[1][4] As of August 2025[update], the nameArctium personata is a synonym forCarduus personata.[5]
A large number of species have been placed in genusArctium at one time or another, but most of them are now classified in the related genusCousinia. The precise limits betweenArctium andCousinia are hard to define; there is an exact relation between their molecularphylogeny. The burdocks are sometimes confused with the cockleburs (genusXanthium) andrhubarb (genusRheum).
Botanists disagree about the number of taxa introduced into North America but most authorities accept at least the following three species:Arctium lappa,Arctium minus, andArctium tomentosum. The influentialFlora of North America and others acceptonly those three species.[3][6][7] In addition to three species, some authorities accept one or more hybrids.[8][9][10][11] TheUnited States Department of Agriculture accepts a fourth species,Arctium vulgare.[12]
AllArctium species are native to Europe and/or Asia but several species have been widely introduced. In Eurasia, nativeArctium species range fromGreenland toSiberia in the north, and fromMacaronesia toPeninsular Malaysia in the south.[2] Two species are native to China.[14]
Arctium species have been introduced on four continents: Asia, Australia, North America, and South America. Two species have been introduced to New Zealand.[15]
The prickly heads of burdock (burs) are noted for easily catching on to fur and clothing. Thus the bur is an excellent mechanism forseed dispersal.[3] In England, some birdwatchers have reported that birds have become entangled in the burs leading to a slow death, as they are unable to free themselves.[16]
A dish containing a Japanese appetizer,kinpira gobō, consisting of sautéed burdock root and carrot, with a side of sautéed dried daikon
Thetaproot of young burdock plants can be harvested and eaten as aroot vegetable. While generally out of favour in modern Europeancuisine, it is popular in East Asia.Arctium lappa is known asniúbàng (牛蒡) in Chinese, the same name having been borrowed into Japanese asgobō, and is eaten in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. In Korean, burdock root is calledu-eong (우엉) and sold astong u-eong (통우엉), or "whole burdock". Plants are cultivated for their slender roots, which can grow up to about one metre long and two centimetres across. Burdock root is very crisp and has a sweet, mild, or pungent flavour with a little muddy harshness that can be reduced by soakingjulienned or shredded roots in water for five to ten minutes. The roots have been used as potato substitutes in Russia.[18]
Immature flower stalks may also be harvested in late spring, before flowers appear; their taste resembles that ofartichoke, to which the burdock is related. The stalks are thoroughly peeled, and either eaten raw, or boiled in salt water.[19] Leaves are also eaten in spring in Japan when a plant is young and leaves are soft. SomeA. lappa cultivars are specialized for this purpose. A popular Japanese dish iskinpira gobō (金平牛蒡), julienned or shredded burdock root andcarrot, braised withsoy sauce,sugar,mirin and/orsake, andsesame oil. Another is burdockmakizushi (sushi filled with pickled burdock root; the burdock root is often artificially coloured orange to resemble a carrot).
In the second half of the 20th century, burdock achieved international recognition for its culinary use due to the increasing popularity of themacrobiotic diet, which advocates its consumption. It contains a fair amount ofdietary fiber (GDF, 6 g per 100 g), calcium, potassium, and amino acids,[20] and is low in calories. It contains theprebiotic fiberinulin.[21] It contains apolyphenol oxidase,[22] which causes its darkened surface and muddy harshness by formingtannin-iron complexes. Burdock root's harshness harmonizes well withpork in miso soup (tonjiru) and with Japanese-stylepilaf (takikomi gohan).
Burdock is a traditionalmedicinal herb used for many ailments. Burdock root oil extract, also called bur oil, is used in Europe as a scalp treatment.[26]
Black from dust but still alive and red in the center. It reminded me ofHadji Murad. It makes me want to write. It asserts life to the end, and alone in the midst of the whole field, somehow or other had asserted it.
— Russian authorLeo Tolstoy, in his journal (July, 1896) of a tiny shoot of burdock he saw in aploughed field
In Turkish Anatolia, the burdock plant was believed to ward off theevil eye, and as such is often a motif appearing woven intokilims for protection. With its many flowers, the plant also symbolizes abundance.[27] Before and duringWorld War II, Japanese soldiers were issued a 15-1/2-inch bayonet held in a black-painted scabbard, the juken. Their nickname was the burdock sword (gobo ken).
Mary Palmer's mid 18th centuryDevonshire Dialogue records the burrs of the plant being known in Devon, England, as "bachelor's-buttons".
TheEnglish folk artistNancy Kerr refers to "The Land of Santa Georgia where the Banks of Burdocks Grow" in her song Santa Georgia, supposedly representing the relationship between country and city in modern England (especially Sheffield).[28][29][better source needed]
After taking his dog for a walk one day in the late 1940s (1948),George de Mestral, a Swiss inventor, became curious about the seeds of the burdock plant that had attached themselves to his clothes and to the dog's fur. Under a microscope, he looked closely at the hook system that the seeds use to hitchhike on passing animals aiding seed dispersal, and he realized that the same approach could be used to join other things together. His work led to the development of thehook and loop fastener, which was initially sold under theVelcro brand name.[30]
Serbo-Croatian uses the same word,čičak, for burdock and velcro;[31] Turkish does the same with the namepitrak, while in thePolish languagerzep means both "burr" and "velcro".[32] The German word for burdock isKlette and velcro isKlettverschluss (= burdock fastener).[33] InNorwegian burdock isborre and velcroborrelås, which translates to "burdock lock".[34]
^Weakley, Alan S.; Southeastern Flora Team (2025)."ArctiumLinnaeus".Flora of the southeastern United States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, North Carolina Botanical Garden. Retrieved16 August 2025.
^Kartesz, John T. (2014)."Arctium".State-level distribution maps from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). Retrieved18 August 2025.
^"ArctiumLinnaeus". Database of Canadian Vascular Plants (VASCAN). Retrieved16 August 2025.
^Calapai, G; Miroddi, M; Minciullo, PL; Caputi, AP; Gangemi, S; Schmidt, RJ (July 2014). "Contact dermatitis as an adverse reaction to some topically used European herbal medicinal products - part 1: Achillea millefolium-Curcuma longa".Contact Dermatitis.71 (1):1–12.doi:10.1111/cod.12222.PMID24621152.S2CID30930806.
^Nyerges, Christopher (2017).Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods. Guilford, CT: Falcon Guides.ISBN978-1-4930-2534-3.OCLC965922681.
^Szczawinski, A.F.; Turner, N.J. (1978).Edible Garden Weeds of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences.
^Extraction, Partial Characterization, and Inhibition Patterns of Polyphenol Oxidase from Burdock (Arctium lappa). Mie S. Lee-Kim, Eun S. Hwang and Kyung H. Kim, Enzymatic Browning and Its Prevention, Chapter 21, pp. 267–276,doi:10.1021/bk-1995-0600.ch021
Gilman, Arthur V. (2015).New Flora of Vermont. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden, Volume 110. Bronx, New York, USA: The New York Botanical Garden Press.ISBN978-0-89327-516-7.
Haines, Arthur (2011).New England Wild Flower Society's Flora Novae Angliae: A Manual for the Identification of Native and Naturalized Higher Vascular Plants of New England. Illustrated by Elizabeth Farnsworth and Gordon Morrison. Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-300-17154-9.
