The Yodeling Forager: Identifying Burdock
Burdock is a great wild edible to learn. It is common and it has edible parts at all times of the year...*Quality* edible parts that are easy to harvest and cook, that you can eat for sustenance, and they taste really good!
The roots, leaf stalks, and flower stalks are all excellent vegetables. Burdock is very easy to identify- once it produces the stalk with the distinctive burs, there is nothing in the Great Lakes area that looks at all like it. However, the roots and leaf stalks need to be harvested before the flower stalk emerges. And I have noticed that a lot of people find it difficult to tell the difference between burdock and rhubarb without the flower stalk. Which doesn't really matter if you are eating the leaf stalk, because rhubarb stalks are also tasty. But it does matter if you are going after the root. Beginners also often mistake skunk cabbage for burdock, which would result in a pretty bad meal.
But it really is not difficult to differentiate between the 3 plants if you know what to look for. I made this video to help everyone eliminate potential look-alikes and confidently identify burdock BEFORE the flower stalks emerge. Leaf stalks are prime right now. Go get some for tonight's meal!
