stickseed

Barbed seed plant

Stickseed is any of various plants in the borage family whose small, burr-like seeds cling tenaciously to clothing and animal fur.

The seeds are covered in tiny hooked bristles that catch on passing fabric or hair, spreading the plant to new locations.

Common in woodland edges and disturbed ground across North America.

botanical

wildflower

Uncultivated flowering plant

barb · hooked · bristle · achene · herbaceous · biennial · annual · perennial · stem · rosette

dispersal

hitchhiker

Person seeking free rides

  • furAnimal body hair
  • clothingBody coverings worn daily
  • sockKnitted foot covering

velcro · attachment · clinging · burr · spreading · animal · transport · adhesion · hook · catch

habitat

meadow

Grassy field for grazing

roadside · trailside · grassland · rocky · slope · dry · moist · shade · understory · clearing

Opposites
seed dispersal mechanism/surface texture

stickseeddandelion

Yellow flower, white puffball

maple · milkweed · coconut · poppy · lotus

Family

seed, stick, sticky, seedy, seedling

Familiarity
Top 1,000,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Rated G