The Sticky, Prickly Cocklebur Plant

Cocklebur plants (Xanthium strumarium) is a noxious weed in North America. Cockleburs usually grow two to four feet tall and can spread rapidly. Besides that, the plant is toxic to animals.

The flowers are small and bloom in late summer. They're not showy and are easy to overlook. They later produce oval burs covered with stiff, hooked spines about an inch long. Each one contains two seeds.  

When you or an animal brush by a plant, the prickly burs hook into clothing or fur and become tightly attached. Most people don't think to destroy the burs when they pull them off; they just toss them into the ground where they can germinate.  That's how the cocklebur plant crops up everywhere.

If gardeners and farmers don't recognize the plant and bury it when cultivating the land, the seeds can germinate when brought to the surface again. 

My sister and brother-in-law had a new house built out in the country. After the house was finished, they used a tractor to rake and level the dirt that was dug out for their foundation so they could plant grass. Well, when the grass began to grow, so did dozens of cocklebur plants! Those seeds had been in the ground for years and sprouted when brought to the surface.

If you learn to identify the cocklebur plant, you can get rid of it before it grows too tall and produces seed burs.  It's a good idea to walk through your fields early in the spring to look for the plants.

As long as there is moisture in the ground and the plants are still short, they are easy to pull up by hand; that's what I did when plants sprouted up in my sister's yard.  

You can also chop them out of the ground or mow them. If you mow, they'll grow back, so make sure you mow again before they reseed. It can take a couple of years to get rid of them this way, but you won't have to put chemicals into your ground.

After you pull up or chop down the plants, don’t use the cocklebur weed for animal feed – it’s poisonous.

If you aren’t able to get rid of the plants before they make seeds, make sure you bag or burn them.  Even unripe seeds can mature after a plant has been cut or pulled. And of course, don’t put plants with seeds in a compost pile.

If your land is infested with cocklebur plants, you can also burn the field, but be sure to have spotters (people watching the fire) to make sure it doesn't spread and get out of control.

Herbicides can also be used, but remember that herbicides kill other plants as well, and the herbicide will stay in your soil. 

NOTE:  Many weeds have some sort of redeeming factor such as being food for wildlife or livestock, but so far I haven't found anything good about the cocklebur plant.