Buffalo Bur
Solanum rostratum, Potato or Nightshade Family ( Solanaceae ), Buffalo Bur. Also called Kansas Thistle, Texas Thistle, Colorado Bur, Mexican Thistle.
Buffalo Bur is a tap rooted annual (reproduces each year by seeds). On North America's list of Noxious Weeds. The name "buffalo Bur" dates back to the time of settlement of the Great Plains when the plant grew abundantly in the disturbed soil of buffalo wallows. Buffalo carried the burs great distances in their shaggy coats.
Buffalo Bur is a native North American species; its range extends from central Mexico northward across the Great Plains of the United States. There are 15 species of Solanum in Arizona.
Buffalo Bur is considered to be a "nuisance weed" of barnyards, corrals, etc. The burs can cause considerable loss in the wool value ofn sheep. Buffalo Bur is considered noxious on farms and rangelands.
It looks pretty, but hurts if your touch it.
Height: Up To About 2 feet. Spreading out to about 2 foot wide.
Flowers: Yellow. The flowers are five-lobed, wheel-shaped, 1 to 1.5 inches across, in few flowered clusters on spiny flower stalks. The calyx is covered by spines; it enlarges and forms a spiny bur, enclosing and completely covering the seedpod.
Blooming Time: June to October.
Leaves: The leaves are alternate and two to six inches long including the stalks. Each leaf is irregularly cut into five to seven lobes, and often these are two to five lobed. The leaves are covered by short yellow star-like hairs, and the midribs, veins, and leaf stalks are spiny.
Fruit: The seeds are almost circular, 1/2 inch or slightly more in diameter, brown to reddish brown, flattened, irregularly angled, with a finely pitted surface.
Shape: Spined, hairy annual. The stems (mostly branching in the upper part), are erect and bushy. The entire plant, except the for the flower petals, is covered by straight yellow spines, 1/8 to 1/2 inch long.
Elevation: 800 - 7000 Feet.
Habitat: On cultivated, waste and fallow land, roadsides, yards. It also can be found in disturbed sites and sandy soils.
Miscellaneous: Flowering Photos Taken October 27, 2005 Bloody Basin.
