PLANT of the MONTH   ~~   OCTOBER 2006
updated on or about the 1st of each month

COCKLEBUR

• Common Name(s): Cocklebur
• Scientific Name: Xanthium strumarium
• Family: Asteraceae, Sunflower family
• Plant Type: Annual
• Size: small shrub, up to 5 feet high
• Common Habitat: dry, sunny fields or low hills

Cocklebur's common name owes to the 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch diameter seedpods emanating from its stems. The green burs are known to entangle in hair or stick to one's clothing if brushed against. Other features of the plant are its rather large (3-5 inch) 3-lobed leaves, spotted stems, and green flowers. It blooms from July to October.

This plant commonly grows near dry or wet creekbeds in fertile soil, or alternatively in grassy fields. It is actually a plant that is found all over the world. You would be correct in deducing from this fact that it is not native to Southern California.

Contributed by Liz Baumann

Curious what was featured in past Plants of the Month? Search the Archives.

REFERENCES:
Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains, by Milt McAuley
Flowering Plants: The Santa Monica Mountains, Coastal and Chaparral Regions of Southern California, by Nancy Dale
Roadside Plants of Southern California, by Thomas J. Belzer
California Native Plants for the Garden, by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O'Brien