Common Burdock, Lesser Burdock

Commonly found on field and forest edges, particularly the moist areas. The young leaf steams are edible while still light green, as they...Read More get older the stems develop a red color and get fibrous and bitter, the young green stems are a yearly treat if you have access to lots of them, they are quite good batter dipped and fried. Foragers and survivalists may find use of the leaves to wrap wild food for open fire cooking. The roots of the older plants are said to be edible.

Tap root can go to 4ft, hard to get rid of. Little redeeming value to wildlife. Deer will browse this plant only if no other food is ava...Read Moreilable. Burs stick to clothes, animal fur and can even be fatal to birds: "Common Burdock (Arctium minus) is an invasive, exotic plant that can be deadly to small birds like kinglets, warblers and bats. Burdock’s burrs act like Velcro to trap birds and bats unfortunate enough to come in contact with them." http://www.wihumane.org/wildlife/burdock.aspx

Quite common in the UK, it seems to do particularly well on disturbed ground, reaches about six feet high.

This plant doesn't seem to get many good reviews, but the second year stalks and that deep taproot are very tasty, sort of like a potato....Read More Great survival food, one of nature's many wonderful gifts.