Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: burr

This image was taken during the month of October, 2011.

This tiny, delicate beauty grows everywhere on our property, and when it goes to seed, it makes millions and billions and zillions of tiny, annoying burrs. These then attach themselves to anything passing by. Socks can become so covered that it's easier to just throw them away than to spend an hour per sock to remove all of the burrs! We can't let Molly, our Border Collie, wander off our road during the late summer and fall because when she returns, she is totally covered from head to foot in burrs! What a nightmare! Since this is such an annoying weed, I wasn't surprised when I couldn't find the name of this wildflower! So for now, it's a Pink Burr Flower! (Not to be confused with White Burr Flower, which is a similar species but pure white...that will be coming up in the Flower Count! :D)

I thought it would be fun to show the stages of this flower from bud to seed! I actually didn't want to take pictures of the burrs because I hate them so much! :D A burr (also spelled "bur") is a seed with hooks or teeth which attach themselves to fur or clothing, thus spreading themselves away from the parent plant. This is an extremely effective form of seed dispersal and seeds in this form can be carried across continents in socks or in an animals fur! There are many plants which use this form of seed dispersal, and it shouldn't be surprising to find out that many of them are weeds! :D If you'd like to know more about burrs, Wiki has a good page here: Wiki: Burr