tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3579242589372209341.post4170889570331262360..comments2024-03-28T12:38:17.692-07:00Comments on Foothill Agrarian: Strong WordsFlyingMulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08319140214676274456noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3579242589372209341.post-88843825819226964992012-10-03T07:33:13.697-07:002012-10-03T07:33:13.697-07:00http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthium_strumarium
...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthium_strumarium<br /><br />Yep, it is a medicinal. Good ol' wikipedia!Jared Lloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03713365634610817756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3579242589372209341.post-12221661762655217072012-10-03T07:28:21.745-07:002012-10-03T07:28:21.745-07:00Yeah, the burrs make an electric 'Lrrrrr' ...Yeah, the burrs make an electric 'Lrrrrr' noise as they go through the fiber cleaner and cards... Makes you think it will bog the machines down. The seeds are oily like sunflower seeds and very dense, so they really gob down in the card cloth. As a result they are extremely difficult to pick out when it is time to clean the machines.<br /><br />The hard hulls do drop out though in processing, whereas softer burrs, like burdock, manage to slip a few bits through all the way into yarns. It's easy to see them in the dyed yarns and we're always picking bits out when preparing yarn for market displays.<br /><br />We don't have the spiny ones here, but along waterways, ponds, dirt tanks and drainages there are lots of the other species. The local strains are bad, but the worst were from some lambs I bought out of Eastern Montana. HUGE burrs with longer spines than ours.<br /><br />They're an annual that is easy to control if you pull all of the young plants before/as they flower. I've nearly got them eradicated here, but am still fighting houndstongue, burdock and licorice (that have loads of softer-spined, velcro pods.) The licorice has extensive rhizome systems, so killing them just isn't likely. I top them with a brush hog and hold goats on them to keep them vegetative and it seems to work well to control flowering. Their pods and beans stick in the fiber cleaner too.<br /><br />I'm not at all familiar with the spiny species, but the common species is very aromatic (kinda stinky) and full of essential oils, so there are almost definitely medicinal properties. I would have to check a pharm reference to see what it is. It may be worth our while to market the plants we pull to herbalists or homoeopaths.<br /><br />Best of luck in controlling those un-friendly burrs!Jared Lloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03713365634610817756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3579242589372209341.post-47756103129654919412012-10-02T11:10:21.600-07:002012-10-02T11:10:21.600-07:00I HATE ALL COCKLEBUR and I HATE MEDUSAHEAD. There....I HATE ALL COCKLEBUR and I HATE MEDUSAHEAD. There. Do I feel better? BTW I just looked it up. Common cocklebur (Xanthium strumariuma0 is a native of North America, but spiny cocklebur (X. spinosum) is a native of Europe. I don't have as much of it as I used to because I chop it out anytime I see it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3579242589372209341.post-74445775341580182372012-10-02T05:45:00.696-07:002012-10-02T05:45:00.696-07:00I didn't realize it was a native plant! Doesn...I didn't realize it was a native plant! Doesn't make me like it any more!FlyingMulehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08319140214676274456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3579242589372209341.post-5864550811880992122012-10-01T23:24:11.509-07:002012-10-01T23:24:11.509-07:00Ohhhhhhh, spiny cocklebur a weed that I also disli...Ohhhhhhh, spiny cocklebur a weed that I also dislike. Although this plant is native to California and other regions of North America it is extremely noxious. Trying to work in or around this plant is really difficult.<br />Scott Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03293000582003166888noreply@blogger.com