September 7, 2005
Cocklebur or Common Clotbur (Xanthium chinense)
This introduced weed has spread invasively on the Reservation in the past two years. The spiky seedpods can become attached to fabric or fur and dropped in a new location. A large number of the plant species at Fresh Pond have seeds that stick. Perhaps it is the abundance of free-running dogs there that makes this dispersal strategy so successful.