Weed of the Week

From Amanda Homans, Agronomist with Decisive Farming.

Common name: Common Burdock

Latin name: Arctium minus

Common burdock is a biennial weed that can be found in hay fields, rangelands, roadsides, and waste areas.

As a seedling, the surfaces of the leaves are somewhat hairy and winkled.  Within the first year of development, common burdock has a thick, fleshy tap root and a large basal rosette.  These leaves are triangular with a heart-shaped base and a wavy margin.  The leaves can resemble rhubarb except that the undersides are wooly-hairy.

A mature burdock head is almost round and are found either singly or in clusters at the end of the branches.  Each head has disk flowers surrounded by hook bristles.  This is called the bur, and is easily dispersed by man and animals.  The seeds found within the bur look somewhat like narrow curved sunflower seeds.