Xanthium orientaleL.

common cockleburrlarge cockleburrrough cockleburr

WFO wfo-0000021160 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Xanthium orientale, photographed by Дима Орлов
fig. a Дима Орлов, CC0 1.0 / 2022-04-29 / obs. 191603193
Xanthium orientale, photographed by joergmlpts
fig. b joergmlpts, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 182572208
Xanthium orientale, photographed by WATANABE Hitoshi 渡辺仁
fig. c WATANABE Hitoshi 渡辺仁, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 172151290
Xanthium orientale, photographed by WATANABE Hitoshi 渡辺仁
fig. d WATANABE Hitoshi 渡辺仁, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 170641688
Xanthium orientale, photographed by Miriam Sokhet
fig. e Miriam Sokhet, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 168971018
Xanthium orientale, photographed by Anna Petrosyan
fig. f Anna Petrosyan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 168516444
Xanthium orientale, photographed by Anna Petrosyan
fig. g Anna Petrosyan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 166468098
Xanthium orientale, photographed by Duarte Frade
fig. h Duarte Frade, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 164873223

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 77 botanical countries

Regions where Xanthium orientale is native: Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Bolivia, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Chile Central, Chile North, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay AlabamaAlaskaAlbertaArizonaArkansasBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNova ScotiaOhioOklahomaOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestArgentina SouthBoliviaBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastChile CentralChile NorthParaguayPeruUruguay DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Xanthium orientale, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Alaska ASK
Alberta ABT
Arizona ARI
Arkansas ARK
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Idaho IDA
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Kentucky KTY
Louisiana LOU
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
Nevada NEV
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
North Carolina NCA
North Dakota NDA
Nova Scotia NSC
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
South Carolina SCA
South Dakota SDA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Utah UTA
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
Washington WAS
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Argentina South AGS
Bolivia BOL
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Chile Central CLC
Chile North CLN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Uruguay URU

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 9 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Xanthium albinum (Widder) Scholz & Sukopp
  • Xanthium albinum subsp. albinum
  • Xanthium canadense Mill.
  • Xanthium italicum subsp. riparium Čelak.
  • Xanthium macrocarpum DC.
  • Xanthium riparium Itzigs. & Hertsch
  • Xanthium riparium Lasch
  • Xanthium ripicola Holub
  • Xanthium ripicola var. ripicola

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.