''Xanthium strumarium'' (rough cocklebur,
clotbur, common cocklebur, large cocklebur, woolgarie bur) is a species of annual plants of the family
Asteraceae. Some sources claim it originates in southern Europe and Asia, but has been extensively naturalized elsewhere. Others, such as the Flora of China and Flora of North America, state it originates in the Americas but was an early introduction to Eurasia.
Reproductive biology
The species is monoecious, with the flowers borne in separate unisexual heads: staminate (male) heads situated above the pistillate (female) heads in the inflorescence. The pistillate heads consist of two pistillate flowers surrounded by a spiny
involucre. Upon fruiting, these two flowers ripen into two brown to black achenes and they are completely enveloped by the involucre, which becomes a
bur
A bur (also spelled burr) is a seed or dry fruit or infructescence that has hooks or teeth. The main function of the bur is to spread the seeds of the bur plant, often through epizoochory. The hooks of the bur are used to catch on to for exam ...
. The bur, being buoyant, easily disperses in the water for plants growing along waterways. However, the bur, with its hooked projections, is obviously adapted to dispersal via mammals by becoming entangled in their hair. Once dispersed and deposited on the ground, typically one of the seeds germinates and the plants grows out of the bur.
Toxic or medicinal phytochemistry
The plant may have some medicinal properties and has been used in traditional medicine in
South Asia and
traditional Chinese medicine. In
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
, this plant is called Marula Matangi.
However, while small quantities of parts of the mature plants may be consumed, the seeds and seedlings should not be eaten in large quantities because they contain significant concentrations of the extremely toxic chemical
carboxyatractyloside. The mature plant also contains at least four other toxins.
*Animals have also been known to die after eating the plants.
*A patient consuming a traditional Chinese medicine containing cocklebur called ''Cang Er Zi Wan'' (苍耳子丸) developed muscle spasms.
* It was responsible for at least 19 deaths and 76 illnesses in
Sylhet
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...
District,
Bangladesh, 2007. People ate large amounts of the plants, locally called ''ghagra shak'', because they were starving during a
monsoon flood and no other plants were available. The symptoms included vomiting and altered mental states, followed by unconsciousness.
Gallery
File:Xanthium strumarium 000.jpg, Fruit
File:Xanthium strumarium 001.jpg, Leaves
File:Xanthium strumarium MHNT.BOT.2004.0.213.jpg, ''Xanthium strumarium'' – MHNT
See also
*
Arctium
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q857159
strumarium
Flora of North America
Flora of Europe
Flora of temperate Asia
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Plants used in Native American cuisine
Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine
Plants used in traditional Native American medicine