| Arctium tomentosum | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Close-up on a flowers | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Arctium |
| Species: | A. tomentosum |
| Binomial name | |
| Arctium tomentosum Mill. 1768 | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Arctium tomentosum, commonly known as the woolly burdock [2] or downy burdock, is a species of burdock belonging to the family Asteraceae. [3]
Arctium tomentosum is a biennial herbaceous plant. The stem is erect, with ascending branches. It can reach a height of about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). Leaves are grayish white and quite felted, green and glabrous toward the stem. Basal leaves are petiolate. Leaf blade is heart-shaped, with rather denticulater margins. They can reach a length of 20–50 centimetres (7.9–19.7 in) and a width of 10–30 centimetres (3.9–11.8 in). Flowers are purplish red, with a diameter of 0.9–1.2 centimetres (0.35–0.47 in). This species can be distinguished from related ones because the underside of the leaves is covered with white woolly hairs.[ citation needed ] Flowers and fruits appear from July to September. [4] [5]
Arctium tomentosum was first described by the English botanist Philip Miller in 1768. [6]
Arctium tomentosum is native to Eurasia from Spain [7] to Xinjiang Province in western China. [5] It is also naturalized in other parts of the world such as North America. [8]