Arctium minus subsp. minus
Common names
burdock
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledonous composites
Flower colours
Red/Pink, Violet/Purple
Detailed description
Large biennial herb usually 1-1.5 m tall. Stems grooved and with sparse hairs. Basal leaves deltoid up to 40 x 30 cm, green above and white and densely felty beneath, on hollow petioles. Upper leaves similar to lower but becoming smaller. Inflorescence a raceme of small reddish purple flowers, with green bracts. Seed 5-7 mm long with pappus attached.
Similar taxa
Can be distinguished from the very similar A. lappa by the hollow petioles/.
Habitat
Terrestrial. Forest margins, waste places, roadsides, creek beds.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Asteraceae
Ecology
Flowering
January, February, March, April
Fruiting
February, March, April, May
Year naturalised
1894
Origin
Europe, W. Asia
Reason for introduction
Accidental
Tolerances
Moderately shade tolerant.
Life cycle and dispersal
Reproduces from seed (many are produced). Dispersed by wind, water and people
Other information
Etymology
minus: Small; from the Latin minor
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.