Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Xanthium strumarium
Introductory
SPECIES: Xanthium strumarium
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Uchytil, Ronald J. 1992. Xanthium strumarium. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/forb/xanstr/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
XANSTR
SYNONYMS :
Xanthium americanum Walter
Xanthium chinense Miller
Xanthium cylindraceum Millsp. & Sherff
Xanthium echinatum MurrayXanthium italicum Moretti
Xanthium pensylvanicum Wallr.
SCS PLANT CODE :
XAST
XASTC
XASTG
COMMON NAMES :
rough cocklebur
common cocklebur
TAXONOMY :
The scientific name of rough cocklebur is Xanthium strumarium L. [12,18,32].
Thress varieties occur in the United States [12]
Xanthium strumarium var. canadense (P. Mill.) T. & G., Canada cocklebur
Xanthium strumarium. var. glabratum (DC.) Cronq., rough cocklebur
Xanthium strumarium var. strumarium, rough cocklebur
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Xanthium strumarium
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Rough cocklebur has a nearly worldwide distribution between latitude 53
degrees N. and 33 degrees S. In North America it is widespread across
southern Canada, most of the contiguous United States, and Mexico.
Areas devoid of this plant in the United States include northeastern New
York and Maine. It is rare in mountainous terrain [28,32].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES31 Shinnery
FRES32 Texas savanna
FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
FRES40 Desert grasslands
FRES41 Wet grasslands
STATES :
AL AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI
ID IL IN IA KS KY LA MD MA MI
MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY
NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN
TX UT VT VA WV WI WY AB BC MB
NB NT NS ON PE PQ SK YT MEXICO
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K025 Alder - ash forest
K027 Mesquite bosque
K030 California oakwoods
K033 Chaparral
K035 Coastal sagebrush
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K039 Blackbrush
K040 Saltbush - greasewood
K041 Creosotebush
K043 Paloverde - cactus shrub
K046 Desert: vegetation largely lacking
K048 California steppe
K098 Northern floodplain forest
K100 Oak - hickory forest
K101 Elm - ash forest
K102 Beech - maple forest
K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
222 Black cottonwood - willow
235 Cottonwood - willow
239 Pinyon - juniper
242 Mesquite
255 California coast live oak
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Rough cocklebur occasionally forms a dominant ground cover in open
riparian woodlands, intermittent streambeds, and beach habitats
[10,17,20]. A rough cocklebur habitat type was described in the
following publication:
Range ecology and relations of mule deer, elk, and cattle in the
Missouri River Breaks, Montana [20].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Xanthium strumarium
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Rough cocklebur is considered a nuisance by livestock producers. The
plant grows in barnyards, pastures, and around farm ponds where it is
commonly encountered by livestock. The spine-covered burs become
entangled in the hides of farm animals. Wool value is decreased if
entangled with rough cocklebur [32].
Rough cocklebur seeds and cotyledon leaves are poisonous to all classes
of livestock. Beyond the cotyledon stage, plants are not poisonous.
Consumption of seeds is fatal at about 0.3 percent of an animal's body
weight; however, the seeds are rarely eaten. Poisoning usually occurs
from consumption of seedlings. It takes several hundred coytledons
(about 1 to 2 percent of body weight) to poison pigs [3,14].
Mourning doves eat rough cocklebur seeds to a limited extent [22].
PALATABILITY :
Rough cocklebur is unpalatable to all classes of livestock. Adult
plants, however, are relatively nutritious [see Nutritional Value]. Its
unpalatability is apparently due to the rough texture of stems and
leaves [21,32].
In a ranking of foods eaten by Rocky Mountain elk, Kufeld [16] listed
rough cocklebur as a "highly valuable" elk forage. The ranking was
based on one study conducted in Montana.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
A 3-year study which analyzed the nutritional parameters of weedy
species found that rough cocklebur foliage in June and July is only
slightly less nutritious than alfalfa. Over the 3-year period, crude
protein and in vitro digestible dry matter in July averaged 24 and 77
percent, respectively [21].
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
In the United States, rough cocklebur is a major weed in cotton and
soybean fields. Infestations in soybean fields can cause severe crop
losses, as much as 60 to 75 percent [32]. Rough cocklebur is
effectively controlled by a number of soil- or foliar-applied systemic
herbicides commonly used in agricultural fields [30,32].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Xanthium strumarium
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Rough cocklebur is a native, broadleaved, taprooted, annual forb
[11,33]. Stems are erect, ridged, rough and hairy, and frequently
branched, resulting in somewhat bushy plants from 8 to 59 inches (20-150
cm) tall. It has small, green unisexual flowers occurring in separate
clusters at the end of the branches and main stem. The fruit is a
brown, hard, woody bur from 0.4 to 0.8 inch long and covered with stout,
hooked prickles. Each fruit contains two seeds [32].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Therophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Because it is an annual, rough cocklebur reproduces by seed only.
Plants top-killed early in the growing season may sprout from the root
crown.
Pollination and fruit production: Pollen transfer is by wind. The
plant is self-compatible and predominantly self-pollinated. Common
cocklebur may also set seed without fertilization of the ovule. Because
of self-compatibility and apomixis, local populations are often
genetically very similar. A single, open-grown plant typically produces
400 to 500 fruits [14,32].
Fruit dispersal: The fruits cling to the hide of animals and the
clothing of humans and are dispersed in that manner. Fruits not
transported by animals fall from the plant during the fall or winter
[18,32]. In riparian habitats, fruits on the soil surface may later be
dispersed by water as they float for up to 30 days [32]. The fruit does
not dehisce, and thus seeds germinate within the fruit.
Seed viability, dormancy, and germination: Seed viability is usually
high, at least 80 percent [32]. Each bur contains two seeds, one larger
than the other. The large seed is nondormant and typically germinates
the first spring following production, while the smaller seed germinates
later in the season or, more frequently, the following year [32].
Occasionally, the two seeds germinate simultaneously.
Depth of burial also influences germination. Seeds lying on the soil
surface and those buried more than 6 inches (15 cm) below the soil
surface rarely germinate. In Illinois, seed buried in November at
various depths in silty loam soil began to emerge after April 1 and
continued emerging until May 19. Maximum seedling emergence was from
seed buried at 1 or 2 inches (2.5 and 5.1 cm) [27]. Another study found
that 11 to 16 percent of rough cocklebur seeds germinated after 30
months of burial at depths ranging from 3 to 9 inches (8-38 cm) [6].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Rough cocklebur occurs primarily in disturbed, open habitats. It grows
in cultivated fields, vacant lots, sandpits, and dry washes; on beaches
and sand dunes; and along the shores of ponds and rivers, especially
riverbeds left barren by receding floodwaters [14,18,28,32]. In
noncultivated settings, it primarily occupies beaches and dunes in
eastern North America and floodplains in the West. In ruderal habitats,
such as agricultural fields, rough cocklebur often occurs in dense
stands, but in natural habitats, such as along shorelines, it often
occurs as scattered individuals [18,32].
Rough cocklebur is tolerant of a variety of soil conditions ranging
from moist clay to dry sand but grows best on compact sandy soil that is
slightly moist below the soil surface and contains a small amount of
organic matter [32]. It is tolerant of flooding at all growth stages
[32].
Herbaceous associates in various habitats are as follows [10,17,20,26]:
Habitat Associated Herbs
dry, scoured washes within wild mustard (Brassica campestris)
southern California white sweetclover (Melilotus albus)
chaparral (Ceanothus spp.-
Artemisia spp.)
moist and alkaline beds of Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis)
intermittent water courses in prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata)
the Missouri River Breaks of foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum)
Montana Mexican dock (Rumex mexicanus)
yellow sweetclover (M. officinalis)
cottonwood (Populus fremontii) prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata)
bottomland along the South cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum)
Platte River in Colorado hemp dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum)
curly dock (R. crispus)
guara (Guara parviflora)
poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)
common reed (Phragmites australis)
coastal beaches and sandpits sea-rocket (Cakile edentula)
of Massachusetts seaside goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens)
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Obligate Initial Community Species
Rough cocklebur is a weed of ruderal (sandpits, old fields, cultivated
fields, etc.) and naturally disturbed habitats (beaches, dunes, and
floodplains) [1,18,28]. As a pioneer, it persists only as long as the
ground remains mostly bare and the site remains unshaded. It rarely
grows in sod, and plants will not flower or fruit in full shade [18,32].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Seed germination:
Illinois - April through mid-May, with lesser numbers through June.
Small germination flushes occur throughout the summer with
adequite moisture [32].
southern Ontario - late May [32].
Flowering: Flowering is controlled by photoperiod. The plant will not
flower at all or only poorly when day length exceeds 14 hours. Thus in
the northern portion of its range, flowering does not occur until late
summer [18]. Flowering time by state is as follows:
Carolinas - July to frost [23]
Colorado - July to October [5]
Kansas - July to November [1]
Montana - August to September [5]
North Dakota - July to September [5]
Wyoming - July to September [34]
Utah - July to September [34]
Seed dispersal: Seeds ripen in the fall. Fruits not removed by animals
fall off the plant in the winter or occasionally remain on the plant
until the next spring [18].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Xanthium strumarium
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Most postfire environments are favorable for the establishment of common
cocklebur, which requires bare ground and full sunlight for germination.
Postfire establishment would depend, however, on local seed sources.
These would include animal- or water-transported off-site seeds and/or
on-site soil-stored seeds.
Rough cocklebur is an annual that survives fire only if the seeds
survive. This seems likely because the seeds are encased by a hard,
woody bur and are thus somewhat insulated from the heat of fire [12].
Seeds which become even shallowly buried by soil are further insulated
by heat during fire. Seedbanking, at least to a limited extent, is
probable, since some seeds have innate dormancy for 1 or more years
[18].
No fire studies have been conducted on rough cocklebur. Discussions by
Duabenmire [4] and Vogl [29], however, suggest that seeds of most
annuals will survive grassland fires if they on the ground at the time
of burning. This is because the fire front passes quickly, which
prevents high soil surface temperatures lethal to seeds.
In beach and dune habitats, rough cocklebur typically occurs in
sparsely populated communities with much bare ground between individuals
[17,18]. Here fire spread seems unlikely.
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Xanthium strumarium
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Late-season fire kills rough cocklebur. Early-season fire
may top-kill rough cocklebur.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Xanthium strumarium
REFERENCES :
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FEIS Home Page
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