Burdock is indigenous to Europe, Asia, the Mediterranean and Middle
East. The herb made a new home in North America, however, as it
travelled with early English and French colonists. Burdock established
itself and spread so prolifically throughout the colonies that a
botanist mistakenly classified the plant as a native species in the
mid-1600s. Today, with the exception of a few places along the southern
border, burdock can be found just about everywhere in the United States.
In Europe, it is said that burdock is a favorite herb of the “little
people.” In Cornwall, pixies are reputed to ride young colts
thunderously across the fields at night while plaiting the animal’s
manes with Bobby buttons, or burdock burrs.
