Height: 3'-5' (1-1.5m). Flower: Tiny; indistinguishable, tubular; many, forming a head atop a globular collection of hooked bracts, on short stalks from leaf axils. Leaves: Ovate-oblong, tapering to a point; entire; alternate. In bloom: July-October. Habitat-Range: Waste places; mostly throughout.
It was introduced from Europe and the early settlers taught the Indians its food value. The young leaves, stems and roots are edible and very nutritious. A tea made from the roots was a well-known blood purifier, ridding the skin of eruptions and boils. The hooked seed pods attach easily to animal fur or clothing and thus effectively dispersed. These burrs, which account for its common name, were considered a "signature" by Indian medicine men, who prepared a concoction to aid in remembering, i.e. "sticking in the mind." The inventor of a mechanical fastener got his inspiration from these hooked pods. A species with larger flower heads and roundly ovate leaves is Great Burdock, A. lappa.