While this plant is listed as a medicinal herb It is considered by most farmers as a very pesky weed. Burdock in a pasture cause much trouble. The plant is large and takes up valuable grazing space, the burr ingested by animals causes choking, and sticks to any fur or hair.

Native to Europe and Northern Asia.
It is the large tap root that is mostly used in herbal medicine.

Cutting the plant out with a sharp spade and then sprinkling the remaining tap root with a bit of salt will keep it from growing back

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Burdock's burrs were the inspiration for Velcro.

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Be careful and alert if you have Burdock growing in your yard or garden, as birds have gotten stuck on the burrs and aren't able to free themselves and die. I once read an article in a bird magazine that focused on this. Pretty sure it was Bird Watchers Digest years ago. Heart wrenching! I had tears in my eyes as I read.

Whenever I see anything in my yard and garden that even looks like a burr, I get rid of it (burrs and plant). I feed the songbirds daily, year round and don't want anything to happen to them.

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Every so often I have brushed against this large, coarse forb from East Asia and had the burs attach to my clothing. Sort of hard to totally pull off. This is one of about 6 species in a genus of the Aster-Sunflower Family of the Old World. This is the only one species that I have seen occasionally growing in rich soils in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, though it has invaded all other lower 48 states. It is a biennial that produces only from seed. It bears its large to about 1 foot long leaves the first year and produces the flowering stalk the second. The rounded flower heads are composed of small disc flowers purplish above and then a green area lower down of hooked bristles to form a bur about 1/2 inch long. The oblong dark seeds are flattish with a lengthwise ridge. The plant forms a fleshy, thick, deep white taproot that lives over one winter. The plant easily resprouts from this huge root if cut down. The Japanese cultivate the plant as a vegetable to harvest the roots of young plants. Livestock rarely eat the toxic, rank-smelling foliage. I look upon it as an invasive weed that is found in some spots.

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