Summary ⁷

The Lesser Burdock, Arctium minus, is a biennial thistle, also known as Burweed, Louse-bur, Common Burdock, and Button-bur. This plant is native to Europe, but is now widespread throughout most of the United States as a common weed.

Comments ⁸

Apparently, the stout taproot has a sweet taste and can be used as food. Similarly, if the outer husk of the stems are peeled away, the pith can be used like a vegetable. There are 3 Arctium spp. (Burdocks) in Illinois. One of them, Arctium tomentosum (Woolly Burdock) has abundant cobwebby hairs that cover the floral bracts below their hooked tips. Another species, Arctium lappa (Great Burdock), is often taller than Common Burdock, and it has larger flowerheads about 1–1½" across. The flowerheads of Great Burdock have longer stalks and they are arranged in flat-headed cymes, whereas the flowerheads of Common Burdock are more vertically bunched together on short stalks, as revealed in the upper photograph. The petioles of the lower leaves in Great Burdock are less furrowed on the upper surface and they are solid inside, rather than hollow.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Willie Angus, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/37928783@N00/1027179445
2. (c) 2010 Barry Breckling, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=333934&one=T
3. (c) "<a href=""http://www.knps.org"">Kentucky Native Plant Society</a>. Scanned by <a href=""http://www.omnitekinc.com/"">Omnitek Inc</a>.", some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://plants.usda.gov/gallery/large/armi2_001_lvd.jpg
4. (c) "<a href=""http://nt.ars-grin.gov/"">ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory</a>. United States, DC, Washington.", some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://plants.usda.gov/gallery/large/armi2_002_lhp.jpg
5. (c) Biopix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Arctium%20minus%2051231.jpg
6. (c) Biopix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Arctium%20minus%2051230.jpg
7. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctium_minus
8. (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/25115880

More Info

• iNat taxon page
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• eFloras.org
• Flora Digital de Portugal
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
• OregonFlora.org
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム
• 植物和名−学名インデックス YList

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