- Arctium minus (Hill) Bernh. - Lesser Burdock - Compositae / Asteraceae
© John Wilde
© Graham Day
(Map updated: March 2008)
Burdocks have very large pointed-oval leaves and spiny thistle-like flowers. The flowers are succeeded by the fruiting heads which are covered with hooked spines. These spiny heads or 'burs' give the plant its name. They have developed as a means of fruit dispersal, latching on to animal fur or human clothing. The lesser burdock is by far the commonest burdock in Northern Ireland. It is a plant of roadside hedge banks, woodland margins, waste ground and streamsides.
All names: Arctium minus (Hill) Bernh.; Arctium minus agg. Bernh.