Greater burdock

Arctium lappa · Daisy family

Plant portrait

Cultivated burdock forms large leaves above a long taproot.

Harvested part

The root of vegetable varieties.

What to watch for

Follow leaf expansion; root length cannot be inferred from the foliage.

Growth stages of the greater burdock

Plotilo illustrates the greater burdock in 5 stages in 3D: seed, small sprout, young plant, growing and harvest. The models show typical shapes; they do not predict how long growth takes.

  1. Seed

    Starting from a seed. It is shown on the surface to make it visible in this illustration.

  2. Small sprout

    A short first stem and its first small leaves emerge.

  3. Young plant

    The young plant carries more leaves and starts to take its own shape.

  4. Growing

    Leaves and stems develop. Their shape depends on the species.

  5. Harvest

    An illustration of the harvested part. Roots are made visible for clarity; this image does not confirm actual maturity.

See the greater burdock in 3D

Same botanical family

Same botanical family as the greater burdock (the daisy family): the lettuce, the globe artichoke, the cardoon, the chicory, the paracress, the Witloof chicory and 4 more plants from the catalogue. Gardeners usually avoid growing the same family in the same spot several years in a row: that is the idea behind crop rotation.

Further reading

Botanical and horticultural references. Real conditions vary with the variety, soil and climate.

Make room for the greater burdock in your garden plan

Draw your beds to the metre, drop crops from the palette and explore the same garden in 3D.

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