# lesser burdock

*Arctium minus*

The hooked bracts of the burdock fruit were the direct inspiration for the invention of Velcro in 1941.

- **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.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/3eeecaaa-9907-47de-93ad-798e5e93c1ba
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/59570
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctium minus
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/360476249/medium.jpg (Douglas Goldman, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.