Xanthium is a genus of flowering plants. It belongs to the sunflower tribe and comes within the daisy flower. This plant is native to the eastern Asia and America. The another name of Xanthium is cocklebur. The seeds of these plants are covered with stiff and hooked spines which get attached to the fur of the animals. Plants 10–80(–200) cm; nodal spines 0. Leaves: petioles 20–100(–140+) mm; blades suborbiculate to ± pentagonal or deltate, 4–12(–18+) × 3–10(–18+) cm, sometimes palmately 3–5-lobed, abaxial faces green, hirtellous. Burs 10–30+ mm. 2n = 36. Phenology jul-aug (summer), sep-oct (fall) Altitude range 10–2000 m; This plant might be poisonous How to get rid of: The most effective methods of cocklebur control are hand pulling or chemical controls. Cocklebur plants reproduce easily by seed, which are generally dispersed on water. The seed can lie dormant in the soil for up to three years before ideal conditions cause it to germinate.
