Xanthium

Also known as cocklebur, cockleburs

Xanthium (cocklebur) is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae, native to the Americas and eastern Asia and some parts of south Asia.

Species

rough cocklebur

GENUS

KingdomPlantae
PhylumTracheophyta
ClassMagnoliopsida
OrderAsterales
FamilyAsteraceae

Native toAfghanistan, Alabama, Alaska, Albania, Alberta, Algeria, Andaman Is., Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas

Observations42,686

Observations recorded164,643

General: Xanthium (from Gr. ξανθος (xanthos), yellow or fair-haired

via GBIF · Kew POWO

Research

704 papers

Xanthanolides in Xanthium L.: Structures, Synthesis and Bioactivity.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022
Xanthium italicum-Heavy Metal Accumulator?Chemistry & biodiversity · 2025
Xanthium strumarium.The Journal of laboratory and clinical medicine · 1998
Xanthium strumarium seed extract boosts osteogenesis in human dental pulp stem cell model.Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine · 2023
Traditional Uses, Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics and Toxicology of Xanthium strumarium L.: A Review.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019

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Wikidata facts

Image: Xanthium sibiricum.JPG

Show 6 more facts

taxon name: Xanthium
Commons category: Xanthium
GRIN URL: npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomygenus.aspx?id=12931
taxon common name: Pıtraq
PAEnflowered taxon URL: www.paenflowered.org/apgii/asterales/asteraceae/xanthium
Flora of the Hawaiian Islands URL: naturalhistory2.si.edu/botany/hawaiianflora/genusdescr.cfm?genus=Xanthium

Sources (4)

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Article

9 sections

Contents

Description
Biology
Diversity
Legal status
Toxicity and uses
Gallery
See also
References
Further reading

Xanthium (cocklebur) is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae, native to the Americas and eastern Asia and some parts of south Asia.

==Description== Cockleburs are coarse, herbaceous annual plants growing to tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, with deeply toothed margins. Some species, notably Xanthium spinosum, are also very thorny with long, slender spines at the leaf bases.