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Common Burdock (Arctium minus) |
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Arctium lappa Common burdock is a smaller species than Great Burdock (4 to 9 feet in height) and the flower heads larger (1 to 1.5 inches in diameter). The flower stems of Great Burdock are elongate and the flower heads are arranged in a flat-topped cluster.
Arctium tomentosum The spiny bracts of Woolly Burdock are covered with fine hairs. Woolly Burdock is a larger plant of approximately the same size as Great Burdock and with elongate flower stalks. Common Burdock (Arctium minus) Alien: Native of Europe. Identification: Flower heads round, thistlelike, about 0.5 to 0.75 inches in diameter, covered with naked spines hooked at the apex. Flower florets elongate, purple. Heads located on short stalks nearly sessile to the stem. Leaves heart-shaped, although not indented at the base, soft and downy, without curly edges. Lower leaves with hollow leaf stems. Plant 3 to 5 feet in diameter. Distribution: The most widely distributed of the burdock species occurring throughout most of North America. Habitat: Common Burdock is a ubiquitous weed found in disturbed habitats such as fields, roadsides, and empty lots. 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.
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Common Burdock (Arctium minus)
Similar Species: Great Burdock (Arctium lappa) Woolly Burdock (Arctium tomentosum)
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Similar Species |
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