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

Xanthium strumarium L.
common cocklebur (rough cockleburr)
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Xanthium strumarium
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Xanthium strumarium var. canadense

Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems erect, solitary, simple, stiff-hairy or nearly glabrous, 0.2-2 m tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves broadly egg-shaped to kidney-shaped, becoming heart-shaped at the base, alternate, sometimes shallowly 3- to 6-lobed, stalked, 2-15 cm long including the stalks, stiff-hairy or nearly glabrous.

Flowers:
Heads unisexual in several or many short, axillary clusters; male involucres of separate bracts, female involucres of fused bracts forming a conspicuous cylindric to egg-shaped 2-chambered bur with hooked prickles, 1-3.5 cm long; corolla lacking.

Fruits:
Achenes thick, solitary in the chambers of the bur; pappus lacking.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist ditches and disturbed areas in the steppe zone; rare in SC BC and SW BC (lower Fraser River valley); introduced from E North America.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S4S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

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

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

UBC Herbarium Scanned Collection Record
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: 2024-05-16 9:00:35 PM ]

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