tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post8434249407659829379..comments2024-02-22T10:16:38.304-06:00Comments on https://lynfenwick.blogspot.com: Prickly PoppiesLynda Beck Fenwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12363248580928472769noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post-7888575708791436152014-10-10T20:12:28.242-05:002014-10-10T20:12:28.242-05:00Thanks to a friend for sharing her cocklebur story...Thanks to a friend for sharing her cocklebur story...not too dissimilar from my own memory, except that my father just tempted me with quarters to pull the prickly poppies...and I wasn't adequately tempted! Lynda Beck Fenwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12363248580928472769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post-22930820046022495052014-10-10T20:10:39.798-05:002014-10-10T20:10:39.798-05:00Shared via e-mail: My father had a thing about co...Shared via e-mail: My father had a thing about cockleburs (Xanthium pennsylvanicum). The flowers are unisexual--we never spoke about that--and bloom from August through October. It's the distinctive seed pods or burrs that make this plant easy to identify. The seeds and seedlings are toxic to humans and animals. The burrs are brown, about 1" long and are covered with stout, hooked prickles, tipped with 2 hooked spines! The burrs contain 2 seeds, the lowest one germinates immediately and the other one can sprout up years later. Early growth season control was important so, as very young girls, were seeking the toxic newly sprouting baby plants. We would be left by the roadside to pull (roots and all) the small plants and deposit them in the gunny sack we each dragged across the field. The expectation was that we would trudge the mile-long field and meet Mother at the other end by lunch time and go home, in town, for lunch. We sang, swatted biting flies and an occasional bee, talked loud and thought to ourselves as the hours passed and the Kansas sun bore down on our hats and long sleeved cotton shirts. We drank cold well water and "Hawaiian Punch" from a thermos or Mason jar. It was just what [one] famer's daughters did to earn their keep before they were old enough to drive a tractor! Now it's all a sweet memory and a google search to once again see that dull green leafed plant with "overly sexual" flowers! Thanks for bringing bnack the memory!Lynda Beck Fenwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12363248580928472769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post-17151287177138017682014-10-10T20:02:43.569-05:002014-10-10T20:02:43.569-05:00Your explanation makes perfect sense...clever old ...Your explanation makes perfect sense...clever old gal, that Mother Nature!!Lynda Beck Fenwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12363248580928472769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6231257453868183589.post-64618184559558193402014-10-10T00:51:48.109-05:002014-10-10T00:51:48.109-05:00This plant is new to me, likely doesn't grow t...This plant is new to me, likely doesn't grow that far north. Lovely flowers but I can see where it might not be too popular. Nature does not like bare ground and if over grazing is a problem, will replace the missing grass with plants that are less likely to be eaten.The Blog Fodderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11441978691701289074noreply@blogger.com