|
 |
Great Burdock (Arctium lappa) |
|
Arctium minus Great Burdock is a larger species than Common Burdock. The flower heads of Common Burdock are smaller (0.5 to 0.75 inches in diameter), the leaf margins are not curly, and the flower head stalks are short.
Arctium tomentosum Great Burdock is very similar to Woolly Burdock. The flower head bracts of Woolly Burdock are covered with fine hairs, and the lower leaves are hollow not solid. Great Burdock (Arctium lappa) Alien: Native of Europe. Identification: Flower heads round, thistlelike, about 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter, covered with naked spines hooked at the apex. Flower florets elongate, purple. Heads located on long stalks in relatively flat-topped clusters. Lower leaves heart-shaped with leaf stalks solid with a groove on the upper surface. Upper leaves commonly with curled edges. Plant 4 to 9 feet in height. Distribution: Southern Canada south to Pennsylvania and Georgia in the east and Illinois and Michigan in the west. Also found throughout most of the northwestern United States. Habitat: Great Burdock is a weed found in fields and roadsides with a preference for limestone soils. Flowering period: July to October. Note: The flower heads (or burs), when dry, are easily detached and become attached to passing mammals such as ourselves. The flower heads become stuck to fur and sweaters because of the hooks on the flower head bracts. Thus mother nature anticipated the invention of Velcro. The detachable flower heads are a form of seed dispersal. |
Great Burdock (Arctium lappa)
Similar Species: Common Burdock (Arctium minus) Woolly Burdock (Arctium tomentosum)
|
Similar Species |
 |
