Plants : AsteraceaeFerns and Flowering Plants

Arctium minus (Hill) Bernh.

Lesser Burdock

4483d.jpg
Arctium minus

Description: Burdocks have very large pointed-oval leaves and spiny thistle-like flowers. The flowers are succeeded by the fruiting heads which are covered with hooked spines. These spiny heads or 'burs' give the plant its name. They have developed as a means of fruit dispersal, latching on to animal fur or human clothing. The lesser burdock is by far the commonest burdock in Northern Ireland. It is a plant of roadside hedge banks, woodland margins, waste ground and streamsides.

All names: Arctium minus (Hill) Bernh.; Arctium minus agg. Bernh.

Distribution Map from NBN: Arctium minus at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Arctium minus at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

 Hackney, P., 2026. Arctium minus. (Hill) Bernh.. [In] Flora of Northern Ireland.
https://habitas.org/flora/species.php?item=4483. Accessed on 2026-11-02.