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Lappula occidentalis
Also called Western Stickseed, Flat Spine Blueburr, Flat Spine Sheepburr, Flat Spine Stickseed, Spiny Sheepbur, Western Blueburr, Western Bluebur
Lappula occidentalis, also known as flatspine stickseed, flatspine sheepburr, western stickseed, Lappula redowskii, or Redowski's stickseed, is a biennial forb native to North America and parts of Europe and Asia. It belongs to the family Boraginaceae. Variants include L. redowskii var. cupulata and L. redowskii var. redowskii, which differ in fruit morphology from the type specimen.
Lappula occidentalis is native to North America and polar regions of Europe and Asia. It may be found in disturbed habitats such as roadsides and along railways. Due to the nature of the fruit of the flatspine stickseed, animals such as sheep may aid in the spread of the forb to habitats disturbed by livestock.
Western stickseed was used by the Navajo for ceremonial, gynecological, and dermatological purposes.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lappula occidentalis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
