BURDOCK, Arctium, a genus of plants of the great natural order composita (q.v.), tribe cynarocephalte. The heads of flowers are globose, or nearly so; and each of the scales of the involucre runs out into a long rigid prickle, which is hooked at the point. By means of these hooks, the flower-head, popularly called a burr, readily lays hold of the clothes of a passer-by, the wool of a sheep, or the like, and thus the seeds are trans ported from one place to another, the short hairy pappus being insufficient to waft them far on the wind. The common B. (A. luppa), of which varieties very slightly dis tinguished have sometimes been described as species (A. bardana, etc.), is abundant iu and bushy places, by waysides, etc., in Britain and throughout Europe, scarcely, however, growing except in rich land. Its root is biennial, large, and fleshy, somewhat carrot-shaped; the root-leaves large, stalked, heart-shaped; the stein stiff, upright, some what branched and leafy, 3 ft. or more high. The whole aspect of the plant is coarse,
and it is somewhat clammy to the touch. e root is sometimes used in medicine, being i diaphoretic and diuretic, and acting upon the cutaneous system and the kidneys. It is capable of being made a substitute for sarsaparilla. When fresh, it has a disagreeable smell, but when dry it is inodorous; it has a sweetish mucilaginous taste, becoming afterwards bitterish and rather acrid, and contains chiefly inulin. bitter extractive, mucilage sugar, and a little tannin. In many countries, the roots, young shoots, and young leaves of B. are used in soups; and the plant is cultivated for this use iu Japan. The roots are said to resemble artichokes in taste. The leaves and their expressed juice are sometimes applied to burns and suppurations.