Lesser Burdock
Arctium minus
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in pastures, barnyards, roadsides, other disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 2–5 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
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Do not plant. Listed invasive in Arkansas.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Biennial
- Bloom
- June to November
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 10 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 38 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (53)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hooded Merganser
- Indigo Bunting
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
18CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Arctium
- Anagrapha falciferaCelery Looper Moth
- Apatelodes torrefactaSpotted Apatelodes
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Epiblema scudderianaScudder's Epiblema, Goldenrod Gall Moth
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
- Papaipema cataphractaBurdock Border, Potato-Stalk Borer
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Show all 18
- Platyptilia carduidactylusArtichoke Plume Moth
- Ponometia candefactaOlive-Shaded Bird-Dropping Moth
- Ponometia erastrioidesSmall Bird-Dropping Moth
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Arctium
- Melissodes desponsus
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Arctium
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Plant details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Pink or purple
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late June to November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink or purple” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–5 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Biennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Dry; Moist (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Common Burdock
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications