Arctium is a genus of biennial plants commonly known as burdock, family Asteraceae. Native gobo sushi Europe and Asia, several species have been widely introduced worldwide. They are generally large, coarse and ovate, with the lower ones being heart-shaped.
Arctium species generally flower from July through to October. Burdock flowers provide essential pollen and nectar for honeybees around August when clover is on the wane and before the goldenrod starts to bloom. In England, some birdwatchers have reported that birds have become entangled in the burrs leading to a slow death, as they are unable to free themselves. A large number of species have been placed in genus Arctium at one time or another, but most of them are now classified in the related genus Cousinia.
The taproot of young burdock plants can be harvested and eaten as a root vegetable. While generally out of favour in modern European cuisine, it is popular in East Asia. Chinese, the same name having been borrowed into Japanese as gobō, and is eaten in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Plants are cultivated for their slender roots, which can grow up to about one metre long and two centimetres across. Burdock root is very crisp and has a sweet, mild, or pungent flavour with a little muddy harshness that can be reduced by soaking julienned or shredded roots in water for five to ten minutes. The roots have been used as potato substitutes in Russia. The stalks are thoroughly peeled, and either eaten raw, or boiled in salt water.