Medicinal Plants in Nigeria, Great Burdock

                                                              Great Burdock
Family: Asteraceae

Description: Biennial 0.6-2.7 meter (2-9 ft) plant with large, rhubarb-like leaves. Thick, grooved stalk. Flowers are reddish-purple and thistle-like. Flowers present July through October. Brown, spikey seed pods or "burs" stick to animal fur and clothing.

Location:

Found in waste places and disturbed soils. Ranges from Canada to North Carolina.

It requires moist soil and can grow shade less. The great burdock is the pretty famous in the area of detoxification in both Chinese and Western herbal medicine. The root is  used to treat ‘toxic overload’ that result in throat infections and skin diseases like 

• Boils
• Rashes
• Burns
• Bruises
• Herpes
• Eczema
• Acne
• Impetigo
• Ringworm
• Bites

The leaves and seeds can be crushed to poultice it to bruises, burns, ulcers and sores.