E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Arctium lappa L.
great burdock (greater burdock)
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Larry Halverson  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #71236)

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Distribution of Arctium lappa
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Species Information

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General:
Large, coarse, biennial herb; stems erect, leafy, 0.5-3.0 m tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves large, up to 50 cm long and 30 cm wide, egg- to heart-shaped, stalked (the lower stalks solid), green and nearly glabrous above, thinly white-woolly beneath; stem leaves similar, alternate, progressively reduced upwards.
Flowers:
Heads numerous in a relatively scattered inflorescence; involucres globose, burlike, 2.5-3.5 cm wide, long-stalked; involucral bracts in several series, long, narrow, flattened at the base, spreading with inwardly hooked tips; ray flowers lacking; disk flowers purple, tubular.
Fruits:
Achenes glabrous, oblong, 3-angled, several-ribbed; pappus of numerous short bristles.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry roadsides, disturbed areas and pastures in the lowland zone; rare in S BC; introduced from Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Arctium lappa

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
Site Information
 Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 205 636 1225
Slope Gradient (%) 0 3 25
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		52 238 300
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		4 5 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class		 D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:		 25
Modal BEC Zone Class
 IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BG(4), ICH(6), IDF(8), MS(2), PP(4)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Lappa major Gaertn.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Asteraceae
 Flora North America treatment for Arctium lappa
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-12-05 9:02:25 AM ]
Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.
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