Arctium minus

Family: Asteraceae
Common Name: lesser burdock
Symbol: ARMI2
Description: Duration: Biennial Lifeform: Forb/Herb General: Introduced biennial, 50-300 cm tall; stems robust, branched, reddish; taprooted. Leaves: Basal and cauline, alternate, narrowly to broadly ovate, 30-60 cm long, 15-35 cm wide, green and sparsely short- hairy above, thinly gray tomentose below, base cordate, apex acute to acuminate, margin coarsely dentate to nearly entire; petiole 15-50 cm long, the lower ones mostly hollow, with sparse to dense cobwebby hairs. Flowers: Heads solitary; phyllaries mostly 21-35 in 3-5 series, sparsely long-hairy, margins membranous; receptacle cone- or dome-shaped, with thin dry scales towards the middle; ray flowers 10-15, 5-15 mm long, sterile, white; disk flowers numerous, 2-2.5 mm long, perfect, yellow, sparsely gland-dotted; flowers April-August. Fruits: Achene, obovoid, somewhat compressed, 4-8 mm long, gray to light black, generally mottled; pappus of numerous bristles in 2-4 series, 1-3.5 mm long. Ecology: Roadsides, ditches, fields, forest openings, waste places; 900-2400 m (3000-8000 ft); Apache, Coconino, Navajo, and Yavapai counties; widespread throughout North America. Notes: This species is best recognized by its relatively large leaves and the hooked bristles of its phyllaries