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Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-258
Burdock Root
Arctium minus
Lesser Burdock is a different species from the straight gobo root grown as a vegetable - it is the stronger medicinal plant of the two, rated among the foremost detoxifying herbs in both Chinese and western herbal traditions. The first-year root is edible, but the real surprise is the young leaf stalk: peeled and cooked, it tastes closer to artichoke than the mild root does. It grows best in part shade on moist ground, one of the few crops that actually prefers the shady side of a building, but its hooked seed burrs catch on fur and clothing and can foul a wool fleece, so keep it away from paths and long-haired stock.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 3–10
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moderate
Vertical layer
Rhizosphere- Soil pH
- 5–8
- Plant type
- Biennial
- Mature height
- 3–6 ft
- Mature spread
- 3.3 ft
- Plant spacing
- 6 in
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
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Celeriac
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Chinese Artichoke
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The deeper layer
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- Primary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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