Tea Growing Wild

YARD SALAD

About half an hour ago, I went outside, grabbed a shovel, and dug up some plants growing wild. I dug as much of their tough tap roots as I could and left the leaves for the goat. I brought the roots inside and washed them. Peeled them, chopped them, and boiled them. I ate a few bites of the tender inside shoots raw. They needed no seasoning—tasted almost like almonds, or some other kind of nut.

I boiled them down until the water was a dark brownish-green. Poured it in a mug and drank it with no added honey or sugar. It tasted wonderful. And guess what? The headache that was niggling around threatening to ambush me went away.

No, I haven’t found the magic cure for migraines growing in my back yard. My headache stems from lupus inflammation, which I battle with constantly. And this neat little tea probably wouldn’t help much with a full-blown flare up. But what if I drink some every day? Would it have a cumulative effect on health overall?

Burdock grows everywhere in Appalachia. It’s as common as dandelions. It’s a species of the arctium genus, harvested originally in Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe for its nutritional and medicinal value. This information has somehow become lost for much of the U.S. When I first moved to Virginia and found myself drawn to this large, attractive plant growing along the roadsides, not a single person knew what it was other than “some kind of thistle.”

Interestingly, it’s the plant that inspired hook-and-loop fastening mechanics. A Swiss inventor named George de Mestral studied the way burdock seeds fastened themselves to clothing and animal fur, and in 1955 patented the very first Velcro.

I’ll do more research on this nifty little (er, big) common plant. I’d love to find a use for the leaves. I’ll also have to find a good way to harvest the roots for future use. They grow deep, often in very rocky soil that’s hard to dig. I may end up planting some in a raised bed. My neighbors will think I’ve lost my mind.