Swaziland's Alien Plants Database

Xanthium strumarium L. ASTERACEAE burweed, clotbur, cocklebur, sheepbur, ditchbur, heartleaf cocklebur, common cocklebur, rough cocklebur, buttonbur, ditchbur, sea burdock, hedgehog burweed, sheepbur Invasive, Problem species Origin: Uncertain, probably Central and South America Growth Form: Herb Plant Description: Plant: Much-branched annual up to 1.2 m high; stems stout, green, brownish or reddish-brown, often red-spotted, roughly-hairy. Leaves: Green, paler below, shortly and harshly hairy on both surfaces; broadly three-lobed, up to 180 mm long x 180 mm wide, on long petioles. Flowers: Green, inconspicuous, in the leaf axils, October–April. Fruit: Burs up to 20 mm long, green turning yellowish then brown, in stalked axillary clusters, each bur crowned with two stout, curved or straight horns and covered with hooked spines. Key Features: Control: shallow cultivation during seedling stage or with post-emergence herbicides Comments: More information: Weeds & Invasive Plants Home Page NRCS Plants Database Photo - fruit/leaves Larry Allain @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database Photo - fruit Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA SCS. 1989. Midwest wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. Midwest National Technical Center, Lincoln, NE.

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