Siberian Cocklebur seed Xanthium sibiricum
LATIN NAME: Xanthium sibiricum
COMMON NAME: Siberian Cocklebur
The Siberian cocklebur is the coarse, sturdy weed of the waysides, with the burred fruits that catch on everything. The stout, upright, branching annual carries the large, rough, triangular leaves, and the small, greenish flower heads open through the summer, to be followed by the oval, hard, burred fruits with the hooked spines that cling to the fur, the clothes and the hair. The plant is tough, quick and generous of its seed, and it is one of the familiar plants of the open ground. It is a plant of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Siberian cocklebur has carved a quiet but solid place in the plant science, and the annual has been studied for the burred, hooked fruits and the large, rough leaves. The chemistry of the plant, which has a long record of use in the traditional practice of the East, has been looked at closely, and it keeps showing up in the work on the traditional remedies and the wayside plants. The hooked burrs, which catch on the fur and the clothes, have also made the plant a curious subject of the studies of the seed dispersal, and it is a regular presence in the work on the dispersal of the seeds of the open ground.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The Siberian cocklebur does a lot of work in the wider world. The burred, hooked fruits are one of the classic examples of the seed dispersal, hitching a ride on the fur, the feathers and the clothes, and the whole plant has a long record of use in the traditional practice of the East. The coarse, sturdy annual is a fine, easy subject of the nature table and the botany lesson. The plant is not for eating, since the young shoots and the seeds carry compounds that can sicken, so it is best admired for the curious burrs and the old uses. It has been written about in the botanical papers for the hooked burrs and the seed dispersal, and it is a fine, curious plant of the open, sunny ground.
The Siberian cocklebur is one of the classic plants of the seed dispersal lesson, and the oval, burred fruits with the hooked spines hitch a ride on the fur, the feathers and the clothes. The whole plant has a long record of use in the traditional practice of the East, though the young shoots and the seeds are not for eating, since they carry compounds that can sicken.
To grow the Siberian cocklebur from seed, soak the hard, burred seeds in warm water overnight, then sow them at a depth of about a centimetre and a half in pots of moist, free-draining soil, covering them thinly, keep them in a bright, open spot and water gently. The seedlings show themselves within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun and the open, well-drained ground, the coarse plant with the hooked, burred fruits will come through the season.
Cocklebur seeds(Xanthium strumarium)
Siberian Cocklebur seed
Chinese herb used traditionally to treat headache and to nasal congestion. Also used for pain of the extremities, sciatic neuralgia, ezcema and itching. Thorn-covered berries harvested in autumn all over China. Pungent, bitter flavour. Can be toxic if improperly used.