Plant Name
Scientific Name: Xanthium strumarium
Common Names: Rough Cocklebur, Common Cockleburr
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland, Riparian. This weed grows in desert washes, drainage ditches, and at field edges.
Flower Color: Inconspicuous (greenish)
Flowering Season: Summer, Fall
Height: To 5 feet (1.5 m) tall in favorable locations
Description: The male flower heads are found at the stem tips, while the female flower heads are found in the leaf axils. The female flowers are followed by spiny, sometimes glandular, up to 1 1/2 inch (3.8 cm) long, cylindrical to barrel-shaped, green drying to red-brown burs. The dry burs are covered with stout, sharp, hooked spines that allow them to easily adhere to clothing or fur. The leaves have a rough, scratchy surface texture and are dull green, broadly heart-shaped, and coarsely toothed.
Special Characteristics
Allergenic – The pollen is a moderate allergen. Also, contact with the rough, glandular foliage can cause allergic contact dermatitis in susceptible persons.
Poisonous – The seeds and cotyledons are dangerously poisonous and contain the highly toxic glycoside carboxyatractyloside.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus: Xanthium L. – cocklebur
Species: Xanthium strumarium L. – rough cocklebur
More About This Plant
Arizona County Distribution Map
Rough Cockleburr (Xanthium strumarium) – The Firefly Forest