lesser burdock
Arctium minus
The hooked bracts of the burdock fruit were the direct inspiration for the invention of Velcro in 1941.
- Scientific name
- Arctium minus
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Asterales › Asteraceae › Arctium
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- urban
- Habitat
- Disturbed areas, roadsides, fields, and forest edges.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (Photosynthesis)
- Range
- Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania
- Size
- 0.5 to 1.5 meters in height; leaves up to 50cm long.
- Lifespan
- 2 years (Biennial)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat management, intensive agriculture, and herbicide application.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to humans, though its hooked 'burs' cling stubbornly to clothing and pet fur. If burs become entangled in hair, use conditioner or oil to slide them out without cutting. Avoid ingestion if you have sensitive allergies to the Asteraceae family.
Arctium minus , commonly known as lesser burdock , burweed , louse-bur , common burdock , button-bur , cuckoo-button , or wild rhubarb , is a biennial plant. This plant is native to Europe, but has become an invasive weed in Australia, North and South America, and other places.
Photo: Douglas Goldman, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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