Compared with the more widespread arctium minus, arctium lappa has larger flowerheads with longer bracts, relative to the florets.
Common name:
Greater burdock
Family:
Scientific name:
Arctium lappa
Main flower color:
Range:
Wales and south/central England
Height:
Up to 120 cm
Habitat:
Verges, hedges, open woodland, waste ground
Flowers:
Flowerheads are spherical, up to 4 cm across, formed of many hooked bracts, coloured green to purplish, while at the top are a group of disc florets, their corollas slightly shorter than the bracts, though the purple anther column and the white stigmas are longer. Bracts have a covering of cobwebby hairs
Leaves:
Broadly ovate, generally almost as wide as long. On stalks of up to 3 cm
Season:
July to September
Rarity:
★★★★★
