a weed is any plant growing where it is not wanted

do you know burdock? can you recognize it in summer and winter? if not, may i suggest you make it’s acquaintance. it’s a remarkable plant, and worth knowing in my humble opinion. you probably know it, but perhaps only in it’s winter (burr) form. see, even that is remarkable. how many plants do  you know better in their dead winter form than summer? Here are few fun facts:

• burdock provides essential pollen and nectar for honeybees around August, when clover is on the wane and before the goldenrod starts to bloom.
• its clinging properties, in addition to providing an excellent mechanism for seed dispersal, led to the invention of the hook and loop fastener (aka velcro).
• the taproot of young burdock plants can be harvested and eaten as a root vegetable, and is popular in East Asian cuisine.
• immature flower stalks may also be harvested in late spring, before flowers appear; their taste resembles that of artichoke, to which the burdock is related.
• dandelion and burdock is today a soft drink that has long been popular in the United Kingdom, which has its origins in hedgerow mead.
• burdock is a traditional medicinal herb used for many ailments.
• in Turkish Anatolia, the burdock plant was believed to ward off the evil eye, and as such is often a motif appearing woven into kilims for protection.

burdock flowers (Arctium)