Stickseed (3)
Stickseeds, the genus Lappula, are appropriately named for
their seeds that are a tiny, prickly cluster of nutlets with barbs, hooked
spines, that cling to clothing and fur. Both stems and leaves of Stickseeds are
covered in hairs. Flowers are white or pale blue and barely ¼" across. It has
been difficult to find a definitive key of this genus but these appear to me to be different.
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Flatspine Stickseed
Lappula occidentalis var. occidentalis (L. redowskii )
Family:
Borage (Boraginaceae)
AKA:
Stickseed, Western Stickseed, Flat-spine Sheepburr,
Photo taken on:
June 3, 2006
Location:
Almont Triangle, CO
Life Zones:
Foothills to montane
Habitat:
Dry meadows, disturbed soil
Grows to 20" branching above the middle with many tiny
white to pale blue flowers, ¼" across.
Flowers grow in clusters which elongate to spikes at maturity. The nutlet
has barbs separated in a single straight line. The plant at left is
young.
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Flatspine Stickseed
Lappula occidentalis var. cupulata (L. texana)
Family:
Borage (Boraginaceae)
AKA:
Cupseed Stickseed, White Stickseed
Photo taken on:
April 29, 2014
Location:
Plaza Blanca, Abiquiu, NM
Life Zones:
Foothills to montane
Habitat:
Dry meadows, disturbed soil
Grows 6" to 24" high with narrow leaves.
The barbs are joined at their base forming a cup.
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European Stickseed
Lappula squarrosa (L. echinata)
Family:
Borage (Boraginaceae)
AKA:
Bluebur, Bristly Sheepbur, Bur Forget-me-not,
Spiny Stickseed
Photo taken on:
June 25, 2014
Location:
Walsenburg Airfield, Eastern CO
Life Zones:
Plains and foothills
Habitat:
Disturbed soil, waste places
Grows with a hairy, erect stem and long, bending
branches over 2 feet tall. Leaves are lance-shaped or oblong, 1-2" long.
Flowers are tiny, ⅛" across, with five pale blue to white lobes.
Bracts are leaf-like. The fruit is a nutlet covered in long, painful
barbs in two or three rows, Flatspine Stickseed has barbs in one row. |
White/Cream Round Clusters
| Blue/Purple Single Flowers