[4] Burdock's clinging properties, in addition to providing an excellent mechanism for seed dispersal, led to the invention of the hook and loop fastener.

Burdock flowers provide essential pollen and nectar for honeybees around August, when clover is on the wane and before the goldenrod starts to bloom.

In England, some birdwatchers have reported that birds have become entangled in the burrs leading to a slow death, as they are unable to free themselves.

Arctium lappa is known as niúbàng (牛蒡) in Chinese, the same name having been borrowed into Japanese as gobō, and is eaten in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

A popular Japanese dish is kinpira gobō (金平牛蒡), julienned or shredded burdock root and carrot, braised with soy sauce, sugar, mirin and/or sake, and sesame oil.

In the second half of the 20th century, burdock achieved international recognition for its culinary use due to the increasing popularity of the macrobiotic diet, which advocates its consumption.

It contains a fair amount of dietary fiber (GDF, 6 g per 100 g), calcium, potassium, and amino acids,[11] and is low in calories.

Burdock root's harshness harmonizes well with pork in miso soup (tonjiru) and with Japanese-style pilaf (takikomi gohan).

Dandelion and burdock is a soft drink that has long been popular in the United Kingdom; it has its origins in hedgerow mead commonly drunk in the mediæval period.

[18] Before and during World War II, Japanese soldiers were issued a 15-1/2-inch bayonet held in a black-painted scabbard, the juken.

Mary Palmer's mid 18th century Devonshire Dialogue records the burrs of the plant being known in Devon, England, as "bachelor's-buttons".