Burrs

This is the time of year where you begin to bring the woods in the house with you - in the form of burrs.

The two most common types of burrs around here are agrimony [probably Agrimonia striata] and tick trefoil [Desmodium gangeticum].  The flowers are lovely, blooming in the late summer and fall.



Tick trefoil.   The pink flowers are tiny.

Tiny!














They grow on stalks like tiny pea flowers.   You can just see the new seed forming at the bottom of this pic.

Those burrs stick to everything.

Here are the burrs.   They're cute, until they get on you and you can't get them off!

















Agrimony looks a lot like a low blooming goldenrod.

Blow up this pic for an up-close view of the flower.    It's pretty!   But those burrs are awful. 

Here are the burrs.   They get everywhere.   If you miss some and they go through the wash, they'll end up in your towels.

This is where the idea for velcro came from. 

Aggravating Agrimony

This is the time of year when fields attack us with more than usual ferocity.   Take a little innocent walk in the wild and come back covered with burrs.   

Also spelled burs.    In case you wondered. 

These particular ones have a habit of finding their way onto our towels this time of year.   If I don't want to dry myself off with the working end of some of these, I have to go over the towels carefully as they come out of the dryer.    It's a pain.   Literally and figuratively. 

I got these while I was riding the mower.   Don't ask me how.  I have no idea.

And here's our culprit.   It's agrimony.   Agrimonia striata.   Roadside agrimony. 

It grows everywhere.   It's a nice enough plant during the summer.  Nice little yellow flowers on a long stalk.   Nothing remarkable.  You don't even notice how many of them there are.

But then...

Then...

Somewhere in September, the beauty turns into a beast.     The little yellow flowers turn into little beastly burrs.  

Or burs, if you prefer. 

All you have to do is brush by one and you're carrying it home.   Tibby comes back from her travels covered in them.   She has short slick fur and they come right off.   Thank heaven.   

They don't come right off anything else.