Lesser burdock
Scientific name: Arctium minus (Hill) Bernh.
Family: Asteraceae
MORPHOLOGY
Habit and dimensions: Biennial herbaceous plant, 50-150 (200) cm tall, with a taproot.
Stem: Stem with erect-spreading branches, longitudinally grooved, reddish and densely tomentose.
Leaves: Basal leaves with hollow petioles (sometimes only at the base), 15-50 cm long, entire with ovate or heart-shaped lamina (30–60 × 15–35 cm), cordate base, green and glabrous on the upper side and gray-tomentose on the lower side; cauline leaves sessile, alternate and lanceolate.
Flowers: Corymbose inflorescence composed of spherical capitula with a diameter of 1-2 cm, surrounded by recurved, smaller bracts than the flowers, with red cobweb-like scales and hooked prickles; after flowering, the capitula detach easily. Hermaphrodite flowers, actinomorphic, all tubular, with reddish-purple or violet corolla. It flowers from June to September.
Fruits and seeds: The fruit is a cypsela (Spjut) composed of obovoid, glabrous fruits, with 2-5 longitudinal ribs, dark brownish-black, 5-7 mm long, with a pappus of white-yellowish, rough, rigid, and short bristles (1.5-4 mm), in various rows.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT
Widespread throughout Italy in fallow fields, hedges, banks, roadsides, and paths at altitudes between 0 and 1,500 m.
USES
The root, containing inulin, both dried and in decoction, was indicated by folk medicine as a detoxifier and diuretic. Various parts of the plant are edible, especially sprouts and young leaves, which can be used both raw and cooked, while roasted roots can be used to make a good coffee substitute. Fresh crushed leaves can be applied to the skin in case of insect bites (wasps, hornets, bees, mosquitoes, and horseflies). Before taking any plant-based product (medicinal or non-medicinal) for therapeutic or similar purposes, it is always advisable to consult your doctor beforehand.
INTERESTING FACTS
With stems collected in late summer, fiber can be obtained for producing artisanal paper.
Photo: under a free license from Saxifraga, Rutger Barendse, Ed Stikvoort
