exterminate or leave alone?

If in doubt, collect and destroy all seed and lit spread

Burdock. Destroy it if you can. The burrs will stick to everything and drop seeds as you go.

It inspired Velcro.

Yep, it appears to be burdock. In our yard it was very invasive in the 1990s or so. It became one of our dominant weeds. The burrs stuck in my cat's mane a lot and we had to cut them out; she was a tortoiseshell longhair. They're not the easiest to pull up. The plants look like rhubarb with leaves that aren't as shiny. The appearance was bittersweet, since I loved rhubarb, but it wasn't rhubarb. The roots are supposed to be edible (which I didn't know when I had to pull them up). You can buy it at Baker Creek: https://www.rareseeds.com/burdock-takinogawa

However, it wasn't so invasive that it lasted forever. about 22 years later, it was completely gone (and I don't know how that happened because I was gone when it did). But it was persistent before I moved and came back to find it absent. The lambsquarter, prickly lettuce, mallow (Malva neglecta), Amaranth, dandelions, foxtail grasses, other grass, purslane, and morning glory (redroot pigweed) remain to this day; we've gained a host of new weeds, too (e.g. shepherd's purse, Asperugo procumbens, some kind of thistle that birds like to eat, a mysterious fern-like plant that gets huge and then dries out, chammomile (introduced), wonderberries (also introduced), matted sandmat (a Euphorbia), Siberian elm trees, Northern Catalpa trees, etc. The bull thistle of my youth was gone, too, but we've been getting a few plants again. The purslane was a rarity back in the day, but it did exist (I thought it was cool). Now it's rampant.

i have it on my place. get rid of it.


keith

It's horrid, especially if you have animals as the burrs stick to their fur. I'm finding it invasive on our property. Interestingly, I noticed some at a conservation area where we walk, completely destroyed by some hungry insect! I searched and searched for said insect, but they must have had a good feast and departed. I wish they would do the same to my burdocks!

I'm growing burdock this year - again. Have not been successful in re-establishing a permanent patch, which I would like. But I have a big place so I'm not worried about it invading space I need for something else. If your soil is deep, rich and moist then burdock will like it. In this end of North America you can commonly find patches of burdock near the mouth of rivers flowing into the sea. "The docks" may have been put there by earliest settlers, as a survival food/medicine easy to find. Or maybe it's natural and the docks just like it best in damp ground near the river.
We've found burdock tincture (chopped root steeped in 40% etOH ie vodka, then decanted/strained and bottled) to be one of the most valuable household medicines. Notably will stop toothache in its tracks, if you can't get to a dentist. It's a powerful antibacterial against tooth and bone rots, as well as some respiratory ills. I never want to run out of it, gotta keep a stock.
I've tried eating the roots but TBH the earthy flavor and sometimes tough texture isn't a best match for dinner IMO.
OTOH the earthy tincture tastes amazing in coffee, especially with some Black Hollyhock.

Here it is.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... JinI156lYu

VERY deep tap root can be really hard to kill but at least cut the flower stalk off before it seeds as those burrs are impossible to get out of fur easily.