Alternative names: Gobo, happy major, beggar’s buttons Parts used: Roots, leaves, flowers, and seeds Actions and qualities: Immune boosting, vitamin rich, has cancer fighting properties, diuretic, promotes healthy skin and hair, aphrodisiac and blood purifying. Specific uses: Leaves, shoots, and roots are edible (so are flowers and seeds but are not easy to eat) when boiled, roasted or sauteed. It is also taken internally as a tea, tincture, or even a vinegar extraction. Contraindications: Should be avoided by those with allergies to plants in the ragweed family, pregnant and nursing mothers, and those taking blood sugar lowering medication. History and lore: During a harvest festival in Berwickshire, Scottish children would throw the dried seed heads at the townspeople's clothes. This would continue until everyone was covered in this ‘Wooly appearance’.
