Greater burdock

Greater burdock – Arctium lappa

Burdock leaf and root are used against inflammation and stomach ulcers, for sweating and digestion; they help against rheumatism, lichen, eczema, and purulent wounds. Tea is being gargled in purulent inflammation of the oral cavity; it is used to rinse ulcers and purulent wounds, and in compresses on rashes and diseased. Open wounds are treated with compresses of burdock leaves that must be smeared with lard on the underside. It is also used for hernias, in case of a bite of a rabid animal; it cleanses the blood in the treatment of syphilis, and replaces the expensive Sarsaparilla, which is hard to come by. Purulent plugs come out of ulcers faster, so ulcers do not recur. Crushed leaves with potassium permanganate are the best antidote to a poisoning by a snake bite. Young leaves are picked in the spring, and the biennial root in the fall, or spring of the following year. It grows along fences, roads and paths, on uncultivated land, middens, and next to hedges.