Longspine Sandbur
Poaceae (Grass Family)
Class B Weed
The Longspine Sandbur is an annual grass that grows from eight inches to three feet tall. (Wow! That is as tall as a first grader.) This plant’s flower is a spike one to three inches long and has clusters of ten to thirty burs. These balls of stickers are thickly set with stiff, sharp, spreading spines. They usually contain two light brown, oval to oblong seeds. These burs hurt the mouth, nose and eyes of livestock and reduce the value of wool. The sandburs are difficult to remove from clothes as well as wool and the spines puncture the skin.
Although this is a native plant to the area, it does cause problems to animals and people.