How do you identify a cocklebur?
Description. Warm-season annual forb 2 to 4 feet tall and little branched, except for short side stems appearing from the leaf axils; stems round or slightly ribbed; often speckled with purple and have short white hairs scattered across the surface; root system consists of a taproot that is stout and rather woody.
What are cockleburs good for?
People take Siberian cocklebur by mouth for chronic bronchitis, common cold, constipation, sinus infection, stuffy nose, itching, hives, a condition affecting the joints called rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, headache, tuberculosis, and kidney disease.
What is the difference between Burdock and cocklebur?
Comments: Common Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium) resembles Common Burdock (Arctium minus) somewhat, but it has separate male and female flowers that are brownish white and green, respectively, while the latter species has perfect flowers with bright pink corollas.
What do cockle burrs look like?
Cocklebur plants (Xanthium strumarium) produce hundreds of little football-shaped burs, about one inch (2.5 cm) long and covered with stiff, hooked spines. [Another species that is less common but widespread across North America is called spiny cocklebur (X. spinosum).
Are Cockleburs poisonous?
Abstract. Objective: Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium) is an herbaceous annual plant with worldwide distribution. The seeds contain the glycoside carboxyatractyloside, which is highly toxic to animals.
How do I get rid of cocklebur plants?
The burs of cocklebur can be painful to directly handle through hand-pulling techniques. Additionally, the seeds of this summer annual weed can lie dormant in your soil for up to 5 years. Due to these reasons, it is best to remove cocklebur with a post-emergent herbicide containing 2,4-D or glyphosate.
Where is cocklebur found?
It originates from eastern Asia and North and South America, but it can be found around the world today. Cocklebur grows in the wastelands, along the roads, in the fields, meadows, pastures, near the rivers and streams and in the seasonally flooded areas. It prefers rich soil and areas that provide enough moisture.
Can you eat the cocklebur plant?
The Bottom Line Although they might look and taste like sunflower seeds, cocklebur seeds should never be eaten! Carboxyatractyloside found in the seeds can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, low blood sugar, seizures, and even severe liver injury.
What does the burdock plant look like?
Burdock (arctium) is a large plant with big, broad leaves with a subtle whitish-pink striped stem running through the middle. In the Spring, Burdock produces spiky purple flowers in the shape of orbs, similar to thistles. These flowers turn to dry burred seed pods that stick to your pant legs in the Fall.
How do you identify a burr plant?
How to Identify Plant BurrsExamine the shape of the protrusions on the plant. The burrs on plants are a type of fruit with either an elongated or globular shape. ... Observe if the protrusions on the plant have hooked spikes on them or not. ... Touch the plant burr with a piece of clothing.
What are the weeds that stick to your clothes?
Sticky Weeds That Love HitchhikingPalmer's Grappling Hook (Harpagonella Palmeri) ... Hedge Parsley (Torilis arvensis) ... Common Burdock (Arctium minus) ... Beggarticks (Bidens pilosa) ... Krameria (Krameria grayi) ... Beggar's lice (Tick Trefoils), Desmodium. ... Enchanter's-nightshade (Circaea lutetiana)More items...•
What is the meaning cocklebur?
cocklebur. / (ˈkɒkəlˌbɜː) / noun. any coarse weed of the genus Xanthium, having spiny burs: family Asteraceae (composites) the bur of any of these plants.
How do you spell cockle burrs?
cockle-burr Add to list Sharecockle-burr.the "cockle-burr" family.
How do you spell Cockleburr?
“Cocklebur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cocklebur.
How many seeds are in a bur?
An elliptic to egg-shaped two-chambered bur, 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long and covered with hooked prickles. Each bur contains two seeds, one that grows during the first year and one that grows a year later.Two prickles that are longer and wider than the remaining prickles project from the tip of the bur. A taproot.
How long are the leaves of a sage?
Leaves are triangular to ovate in outline, have stiff hairs, and are approximately 2 to 6 inches long. Leave are irregularly lobed with leaf margins that have relatively inconspicuous teeth.
How big is Xanthium strumarium?
Cotyledons are linear to oblong in outline, waxy, smooth, fleshy, thick, approximately 3/4 to1 3/4 inches long and usually no more than 1/2 inch wide.
How tall is a cocklebur?
Common Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium) Description: This plant is a summer annual that becomes about 2-4' tall; it is little branched, except for short side stems developing from the leaf axils. The stems are round or slightly ribbed.
What type of soil do cockleburs prefer?
Cultivation: The preference is full or partial sun, moist to mesic soil, and loamy or sandy soil. Occasional flooding is tolerated if it is not too prolonged. Young seedlings of Common Cocklebur exude toxic chemicals that can inhibit germination of other species of plants, or kill off their seedlings.
How long are the leaves of a sage?
They are often speckled with purple and have short white hairs scattered across the surface. The alternate leaves are up to 8" long and 6" across. They are cordate or ovate-cordate with bases that are well-rounded or indented and tips that are broad and blunt.
What is the difference between a floral bract and a prickle?
The surface of the floral bract is covered with curly white hairs, while the prickles are hooked at their tips. At the apex of each bur, there are a pair of spines that are longer and more stout than the prickles. At the base of each spine, there is a small opening for the divided style of a female flower.
Do white tail deer chomp off flowers?
White-tailed Deer occasionally chomp off the upper half of mature plants before the bur-like flowers develop (personal observation). Because the burry fruits readily cling to the fur of mammals and the clothing of humans, they are easily transported to new areas, spreading the seeds of this plant.
Is Common Cocklebur a variable plant?
Because Common Cocklebur is a highly variable plant, different varieties have been described (or even regarded as distinct species by some authors), although the validity of these different varieties (or species) has not been accepted by some authorities (e.g., ITIS). For this reason, they will not be discussed further.
How long can cocklebur seeds stay in the soil?
These long-lived seeds can sit in the soil for decades before they decide to germinate. Before humans, when disturbance regimes were a lot less hectic, this strategy likely assured that cocklebur would manage to stick around in any given area for the long term.
Where is the top seed of a cocklebur?
There is a "top" seed, which sits along the curved, convex side of the bur, and a "bottom" seed that sits along the inner flat surface of the bur. Studies performed over a century ago demonstrated that these two seeds are quite important in maintaining cocklebur on the landscape. You see, cocklebur is an annual.
Is cocklebur weed over insured?
Today cocklebur seems to be over-insured. It is a common weed anywhere soil disturbance produces bare soils with poor drainage. The plant seems equally at home growing along scoured stream banks as it does roadsides and farm fields.
Is Cocklebur a sunflower?
You can imagine my surprise then when I recently learned that this hardy species is actually a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). Cocklebur doesn't seem to fit with most of its composit e relatives.
Where are male and female flowers produced?
Instead, male and female flowers are borne separately on the same plant. Male flower clusters are produced at the top of the flowering stem. Being wind pollinated, they quickly dump mass quantities of pollen into the air and wither away.
Is cocklebur a villain?
Sadly, cocklebur can become the villain as its burs get hopelessly tangled in hair and fur. Also, every part of the plant is extremely toxic to mammals. This plant has caused many a death in both livestock and humans.
How tall do cockleburs get?
Common cocklebur is a summer annual that grows about 4-5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m.) tall. Spiny cocklebur is a summer annual which can grow about 3 feet (.91 m.) tall and derives its common name from the small sharp spines on the stems.
How do Cocklebur plants reproduce?
Cocklebur plants reproduce easily by seed, which are generally dispersed on water. The seed can lie dormant in the soil for up to three years before ideal conditions cause it to germinate. Yanking out every small seedling as they appear is one option. Chemical controls take less time.
What is a cocklebur?
Spiny cocklebur ( Xanthium spinosum ) and common cocklebur ( Xanthium strumarium ) are the two main varieties which can be found throughout the Americas, causing grief to nature lovers, farmers, home gardeners, pet owners and livestock. Both types of cocklebur produce large burrs with small, sharp hook-shaped tips.
What insect is used to control cocklebur?
Studies have also shown that the Nupserha beetle, native to Pakistan, is effective in controlling cocklebur, but as it’s not a native species, you’ll likely not find the insect in your backyard. The most effective methods of cocklebur control are hand pulling or chemical controls.
Is a weed a native plant?
However, it is listed as a noxious weed in the states of Oregon and Washington because of its damage to wool production and toxicity to livestock, especially calves, horses and pigs.
Can cocklebur be controlled?
Cocklebur weed management can be tricky. Of course, because of its toxicity to animals, it cannot be controlled by grazing, as many other weeds can be. There are, in fact, very few natural biological control methods for getting rid of cocklebur weeds.
When do cockleburs bloom?
In North America cockleburs typically bloom during the fall months when the days are shorter and the nights longer.
How many seeds are in a cocklebur?
Each cocklebur fruit contains two seeds that may remain viable for many years. The prickly burs hook into your clothing and become tightly attached, like the Velcro ® fasteners on shoes and day packs. Often the vicious burs form tangled clots in the fur of animals, and must be cut out of the hair.
What family is bur clover in?
Other hitchhikers, such as bur clover ( Medicago hispida) and teasel ( Dipsacus sativa) belong to the legume family (Fabaceae) and teasel family (Dipsacaceae). Teasel bristles are stiff enough to raise and straighten the nap on woolen cloth. The large, spiny heads of teasel were used in carding wool in early days.
What is the name of the fruit that is enclosed in a bur?
The seeds are typically enclosed in a one-seeded fruit, called an achene, which is often airborne with a plume of silky hairs resembling a miniature parachute. In the cocklebur, the achenes are enclosed in a bur or involucre that is covered with hooked prickles.
What is the P-660 pigment?
The phytochrome P-660 pigment is very sensitive to specific wavelengths of light, and a flash of light during the 15 hours of darkness can instantaneously convert it into another form called P-730 which inhibits the release of florigen, thus blocking the flowering process.
Who was the Swiss mountaineer who walked with his dog through a field of bur plants?
One day in 1948, an amateur Swiss mountaineer and naturalist, George de Mestral, went on a nature walk with his dog through a field of hitchhiking bur plants. He and his dog returned home covered with burs. With an intense curiosity, Mestral went to his microscope and inspected one of the many burs stuck to his pants.
Do cockleburs bloom in summer?
They will not bloom during the long days of summer or near a street light. Shoes and socks after walking through a field of cockleburs. Cockleburs And The Related Hitchhiker Burdock. C ockleburs belong to the enormous sunflower family (Asteraceae), the largest plant family with approximately 24,000 species.
