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On family walks when the children were younger and wires-coming-out-of-the-ears machines hadn’t been invented, the sight of the Great Burdock (Arctium lappa) was met with a gleeful glint in the eye. The walk would degenerate into a running battle as everyone flung the densely prickly, hook-ended seed heads at each other and played their part in seed dispersal. Burrs stick, of course, and the loser is the one who has the most adhering to clothes, socks and hair by the time everyone tires of the game.
Burdock is an important edible plant. Both roots (fried or roasted) and leaf stems (cooked or raw) can be eaten and are so popular in Japan that supposedly extra-luscious cultivars have been exported to this country. Ever on the lookout for a free lunch, I once spent a rather tedious afternoon peeling burdock stems for the pot. They tasted alright, but the effort rather put me off repeating the exercise too often. We’re probably most familiar with the roots as an ingredient in fizzy Dandelion and Burdock (though I am suspicious of the chemical origins of the “extract” listed in bottles from the supermarket shelf!). Medicinally, seeds, roots and stems can be used to treat certain skin conditions.
Burdock may be identified by its large, flabby leaves, once used as a butter wrap, as well as the little purple flowers atop the distinctive burry head. By far the most fascinating use of these heads is in the Burry Man Parade in South Queensferry in August, which I made a point of witnessing this year. The Burry Man is a real person, but once embedded in his all-over suit studded solidly with burrs and decorated with flowers, it is easy to forget that! He is at once alarming and exciting – at the first sound of the bell heralding his appearance I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and they pretty much stayed there despite being told he was really a graphic designer called John. For an exhausting nine hours, he is paraded round the town, supported by two attendants and only able to drink (whisky) through a straw.
Why? No-one’s entirely agreed. The usual suspects of fertility rites and green man rituals are favourites, and I was told by a local that the birth rate generally rises nine months later but she could have been kidding me on. It’s certainly believed that if a woman “catches” on of the spare burrs that are chucked about, she’ll be pregnant within the year. (My daughter caught one, and has had the necessary maternal warnings!).
What is certain is that the tradition has been going on longer than anyone can remember, that South Queensferry is a closely knit community (is there a link there?) and as far as the town’s concerned, as long as there are burdocks, there will be a Burry Man (pictured above) on the second Friday in August!

© Margaret Lear
www.plantswithpurpose.co.uk