Burdock

.

Burdock

When I was considering what to write about this week, I originally thought about Beltane. Ultimately I decided to do separate posts for the sabbats that mark the wheel of the year. Instead I am writing about burdock.

Flowers

Burdock is a weed. It grows wild in my yard whether I want it to or not. Every year I pick the burs out of my pet's hair and off my clothes. But like most things there is more to this unassuming plant than meets the eye.

Burdock is edible. The leaves may be cooked or eaten raw. Burdock root is medicinal and can be boiled to make an excellent liver tonic. It purifies the blood, and as such is used in many herbal blends to treat everything from acne to gout. Burdock also has magical uses. Use burdock for protection, to cleanse negativity, binding, and warding

Last year when the burdock plants began growing, I was not sure what they were. So I left one of the plants alone so it could fully mature to make identification easier. In early summer, the plant became infested with aphids. It was quite severe and the aphids were aided by ants who milked the aphids for their sugary excretions. I didn't want the aphids to move to my vegetable garden, so I left them alone where they were. A few weeks later, the aphids were all gone. What happened to the thousands of aphids? Lady bugs. The burdock had summoned allies is the form of lady bugs. They laid their eggs on the plant and when they hatched, the ravenous larva ate every aphid on the plant.

Ant tending aphids

Lady Bug larvae

What I learned from the burdock plant was that even when it seems like you have insurmountable problems, when you are surrounded by those that want to pull you down, nothing is impossible with the help of friends.