Arctium lappa

Arctium lappa, commonly calledgreater burdock,gobō(牛蒡/ゴボウ),edible burdock,lappa,beggar's buttons,thorny burr, orhappy majoris aEurasianspecies of plants in the familyAsteraceae, cultivated in gardens for its root used as avegetable. It has become an invasive weed of high-nitrogen soils inNorth America,Australia, and other regions.
Greater burdock is a biennial plant, rather tall, reaching as much as 3 metres (10 feet).It has large, alternating, wavy-edged cordiformleavesthat have a longpetioleand arepubescenton the underside.
The flowers are purple and grouped in globularcapitula, united in clusters. They appear in mid-summer, from July to September.The capitula are surrounded by aninvolucremade out of manybracts, each curving to form a hook, allowing the mature fruits to be carried long distances on the fur of animals. The fruits areachenes; they are long, compressed, with shortpappus hairs.  These are a potential hazard for humans, horses, and dogs. The minute, sharply-pointed, bristly pappus hairs easily detach from the top of the achenes and are carried by the slightest breeze – attaching to skin, mucous membranes, and eyes where they can cause severe dermal irritation, possible respiratory manifestations, and ophthalmia.The fleshytaprootcan grow up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) deep.
Burdock roots containmucilage, sulfurousacetylenecompounds,polyacetylenesand bitterguaianolide-type constituents.Seeds containarctigenin,arctiin, and butyrolactonelignans.
The burdock could be confused withrhubarb, the leaves of which are toxic.
This species is native to the temperate regions of the Old World, fromScandinaviato theMediterranean, and from theBritish IslesthroughRussia, and theMiddle EasttoIndia,China,TaiwanandJapan.
It is naturalized almost everywhere and is usually found in disturbed areas, especially in soil rich in humus andnitrogen, preferring full sunlight.
The leaves of greater burdock provide food for thecaterpillarsof someLepidoptera, such as thethistle ermine(Myelois circumvoluta).
The species is commonly cultivated in Japan.
The roots are edible cooked.Greater burdock root is known asniúbàng(牛蒡) in Chinese, which was borrowed into Japanese asgobōand Korean asueong(우엉), and is widely eaten inJapan, Korea andTaiwan. It was used in Europe during theMiddle Agesas a vegetable, but now it is rarely used except inItalyandPortugal, where it is known asbardanaor "garduna". It is also known under the same names and eaten inBrazil.  Plants are cultivated for their slender roots, which can grow about 1 m long and2 centimetres (3⁄4in) across. The root was traditionally used in Britain as a flavouring in the herbal drinkdandelion and burdock, which is still commercially produced.
The root is very crisp and has a sweet, mild, and pungent flavor with a little muddy harshness that can be reduced by soaking julienned/shredded roots in water for five to ten minutes. The harshness shows excellent harmonization withporkin miso soup (tonjiru) andtakikomi gohan(a Japanese-stylepilaf).
A popular Japanese dish iskinpiragobō, julienned or shredded burdock root andcarrot, braised with soy sauce, sugar,mirinand/or sake, andsesame oil. Another is burdockmakizushi, rolled sushi filled with pickled burdock root; the burdock root is often artificially colored orange to resemble a carrot. Burdock root can also be found as a fried snack food similar in taste and texture topotato chipsand is occasionally used as an ingredient intempuradishes.
Fermentation of the root byAspergillus oryzaeis also used for makingmisoandrice winein Japanese cuisine.
The tender leaf stalks can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked.Immature flower stalks may also be harvested in late spring, before flowers appear. The taste resembles that ofartichoke, a burdock relative.
In the second half of the 20th century, burdock achieved international recognition for its culinary use due to the increasing popularity of themacrobiotic diet, which advocates its consumption. The root contains a fair amount ofdietary fiber(GDF, 6 g per 100 g), calcium, potassium, amino acids,and is low calorie. It contains polyphenols that causes darkened surface and muddy harshness by formation oftannin-iron complexes. Those polyphenols arecaffeoylquinic acidderivatives.
Dried burdock roots (Bardanae radix) are used intraditional medicine.The seeds of greater burdock are employed intraditional Chinese medicineunder the nameniubangzi(Chinese:牛蒡子;pinyin:niúpángzi; some dictionaries list the Chinese as just 牛蒡 niúbàng).