Cocklebur
Xanthium strumarium
leaves
fruit
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FRUIT: Barrel-shaped bur with hooked spines.
FLOWER: Male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers cluster into
separate heads. These compound heads are arranged into a spike with the males
above towards the tip, and females below (developing into burs).
PERENNIAL HERB: Long lived annual or perennial; above ground portions
mostly entirely herbaceous. Stems appear reddish.
LEAVES: Palmate leaves usu. have three main lobes and margins variably
toothed.
RANGE: In the Sonoran Desert this plant is often classified as a
weed and is fairly common along washes and near agricultural ditches.
UNARMED. The burs have sharp, barbed prickles that can sometimes trap
small birds.