Cocklebur Facts
Cocklebur Facts
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| Interesting Cocklebur Facts: |
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| Cocklebur develops erect, hairy stem with numerous branches covered with red spots. Plant can reach 20 to 47 inches in height. |
| Cocklebur has heart-shaped or broadly ovate leaves. They are toothed or shallowly lobed on the edges and have coarse texture. Leaves are alternately arranged on the branches. |
| Cocklebur is monoecious plant which means that each plant develops individual male and female flowers. Male flowers are inconspicuous and formed at the tips of terminal branches. Greenish flowers arranged in pairs that grow from the axils of leaves contain female reproductive organs. |
| Cocklebur blooms from July to October in the northern hemisphere. It requires prolonged night for the successful development of flowers (short-day plant). Cocklebur is designed for the pollination by wind. |
| Fruit of cocklebur is oval-shaped achene enclosed in bur with hooked spines on the surface. Fruit is divided in two chambers, each filled with one seed. |
| Hooked spines facilitate dispersal of seed. Animals collect fruit that easily attach to their fur and skin, when they pass near the plant. |
| Cocklebur propagates only via seed that retains ability to germinate for many years. |
| Cocklebur is also known as "hitchhiker" because of its ability to travel large distances attached to the body of animals or socks, shoes and cloth of humans. Miniature spines are even able to penetrate through the upper layer of the humans' skin. |
| Thickets of cocklebur can be a death trap for small birds (hooks keep them firmly attached to the clusters of spiny fruit). |
| Consumption of seed and young cockleburs leads to death of pigs, sheep, horses and cattle. Old plants do not contain toxins, but they are not palatable because of the rough texture and bitter taste. |
| Cocklebur grows as weed in the fields of corn, cotton, rice, sugar beets, sugarcane and wheat and decreases the yield of these plants. |
| George de Mestral, Swiss electrical engineer, was inspired by stiff hooks of cocklebur when he created Velcro, commercial type of hook and loop fastener. |
| Cocklebur was used as a source of yellow pigment in the past. |
| Cocklebur is used in treatment of nasal and sinus congestion in traditional Chinese medicine. Spines are removed during the preparation of herbal remedy. |
| Cocklebur is an annual plant, which means that it completes its life cycle in one year. |
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