No image available
Asteraceae FAMILY

Xanthium strumarium

Xanthium strumarium

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

Poisonous[ 65 Title A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Publication Author Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. Publisher Wolfe Year 1984 ISBN 0723408394 Description Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far. , 76 Title Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. Publication Author Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Publisher HMSO Year 1984 ISBN 0112425291 Description Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock. ]. Most members of this genus are toxic to grazing animals and are usually avoided by them[ 222 Title A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Publication Author Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. Publisher Houghton Mifflin Co. Year 1990 ISBN 0395467225 Description A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties. ]. The seed also contains toxins[ 222 Title A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Publication Author Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. Publisher Houghton Mifflin Co. Year 1990 ISBN 0395467225 Description A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties. ].

Botanical Description

Xanthium strumarium is a coarse, erect, branching annual plant that grows around 40 - 70cm tall, occasionally up to 150cm. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate
Native RangePossibly originating in South or central America, the plant has spread to become a cosmopolitan weed of temperate and subtropical areas.
HabitatRiver banks, lake shores, cultivated ground and pastures[ 50 Title Flora Europaea Publication Author ? Publisher Cambridge University Press Year 1964 ISBN - Description An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader. ]. Waste land, along roadsides and in dry rice-fields[ 283 Title Medicinal Plants in Vietnam Publication Author Nguyen Van Dan & Doan Thi Nhu Publisher World Health Organisation Year 1989 ISBN 92 9061 101 4 Description An excellent book, giving information on over 200 plants, their medicinal compounds and applications. ]. Damp or seasonally wet, often alkaline, soils, waste places, margins of agriculture; at elevations up to 2,000 metres[ 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. ].