common cocklebur

Family

Asteraceae

Scientific Name

Xanthium strumarium

Other Common Names:

heartleaf cocklebur

rough cocklebur

Synonyms (former Scientific Names):

Xanthium pennsylvanicum

Xanthium canadense

Xanthium glabratum

Xanthium sibiricum

Xanthium orientale

Xanthium chinense

Xanthium indicum

Habit

Erect, stout stems and spreading branches that are angled and often red-spotted.

Leaves

The leaves are alternate and can be up to 8 inches long and 6 inches across. They are cordate or ovate-cordate with bases that are well rounded or indented and tips that are broad and blunt. Leaves are covered with short stiff hairs that give the plant a rough feel.

Identifying Characteristics

It bears heart shaped leaves and oblong, hairy burs with strong, beaked prickles.

Flower Seed Head

The male flowers are in inconspicuous heads clustered at the tips of branches; the female flowered heads are axillary, greenish in color with the 2 flowers in the head enclosed by the involucres.

Seed Fruit

Seeds are borne in a prickly burr that resembles Velcro and sticks to clothing and animal hair. The seeds are often covered with dark membranes. The young seedlings are poisonous and can be fatal to cattle and pigs.

Where Found

Habitats include cropland (especially corn fields), fallow fields, the floodplain zone of rivers and ponds, degraded meadows that are poorly drained, dried-up mudholes, stabilized areas of beaches and sand dunes, vacant lots, and waste areas. Disturbed, poorly drained areas are preferred.

Growth Habit

upright and nonwoody

Thorns or Spines

not present

Approximate Flower Diameter

pencil

Dominant Flower Color

Varies:

white,

green

Flower Symmetry

Varies:

radial symmetery,

bilateral symmetry

Leaf Hairs

has hairs

Leaf Shape

Varies:

lance,

oval,

spatulate

Leaf Arrangement

alternate

Leaf Margin

Varies:

entire,

serrated

Leaf Structure

simple

Leaf Stalk

shorter than leaf

Stem Hairs

has hairs

Stem Cross Section

round or oval

Milky Sap

not present

Root Structure

Varies:

fibrous,

taproot

Life Cycle

summer annual

Ochrea

not present

Plant Type

Herb