# recipe for cockleburr tea, please



## nermal64 (May 26, 2006)

I was wondering if anyone has a recipe for Cocklebur Tea. My grandma used to make it for me when I had a cold as a kid, but I have never been able to find how to make it. My mom doesnt know either. Thanks for your help


----------



## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

Would this be burdock tea? Maybe someone will chime that knows for certain.


----------



## nermal64 (May 26, 2006)

yes, burdock and cockleburr are different names for the same thing.


----------



## culpeper (Nov 1, 2002)

BEWARE! Never trust a common name for a herb!! Cockleburr is the common name for several herbs which have different uses! 

I'm wondering if the one your grandmother gave you is Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria) also called Cocklebur(r). The leaves are used mainly for UTIs, but also for sore throat, digestive problems, and occasionally to clear up mucus in the colon. A tea of the leaves has a vague flavour of apricot.

To make the tea, put 1-2 teaspoons fresh or dried leaves in a cup, pour over 1 cup boiling water. Allow to steep for 10-15 minutes, strain and drink the liquid. Take UP TO 1 cup per day. (Adult dosage.)

The roots of burdock are usually used, not the leaves. There are several species of burdock, some are quite toxic. Make sure to use Arctium lappa (gobo), the Greater Burdock. It's mainly used externally for skin problems, or internally as a diuretic, or to treat cystitis. I doubt very much if grandmother used it to treat colds. 

Other Cockleburrs are of the Xanthium family.

Grandmother's tea might also have been Horehound, Marrubium vulgare, the White Horehound. It is an excellent treatment for the symptoms of cold and flu. The leaves can be taken as a tea (made in the same way as above), but they are usually made into lozenges (candies). 

I do not usually recommend ANY herbal medicines for children (under 12). Their immature bodies do not always react in the same ways to medicines as those of adults, and it is too easy to overdose. The usual recommended dosage for a child is ONE TEASPOONFUL of the tea per day. 

A herbal tea, properly called an infusion if made by the method above, or a decoction (mainly for coarser parts of the plant such as the root - the herb is boiled for up to half an hour) should be used on the same day it is made.


----------

