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MORE ABOUT WEEDS 



FIG. 71. Cocklebur. 



top of the stem. The pistillate flowers are in clus- 

 ters of two or three at the base of the male stalk. 



These enlarge and 

 form thick, hard, ob- 

 long burs, beset with 

 stiff hooked prickles, 

 and bearing two strong 

 beaks at the upper end. 

 These burs, like those 

 of the burdock, stick to 

 clothing and to the 

 coats of animals. The 

 upper portion of a plant 

 of cocklebur is shown 

 B in Figure 71. At the 

 top of the stem, the heads of staminate flowers are seen, 

 and, at the base of the leaves, heads of the pistillate flow- 

 ers. At the right, near the top of the figure, is a staminate 

 flower enlarged. A* shows a bur, and B, a section of the 

 same, showing the two embryos. Both A and B are 

 about natural size. Each bur, when ripe, incloses two 

 seeds, one of which may germinate the first year, and the 

 other lie dormant until a later time. 



It has been said that the plant is poisonous to cattle, 

 but this is probably a mistake. 



The cocklebur is common in barnyards, along roadsides, 

 in waste places, and cultivated grounds. 



As the root of the cocklebur is not creeping, and does 

 not live in the ground through winter, clean culture with 

 some hoed crop, or seeding to clover or meadow grass, 

 with frequent mowing, will keep it under control. It 



