Clint Perkins

Lawn burweed (Soliva pterosperma), more commonly called sticker weed, is best described as a low-growing, freely branched winter annual having leaves that are appear similar to carrot leaves, but are much smaller.

Lawn burweed is a winter annual member of the Aster family. The weed germinates throughout thin turf in the fall months as temperatures cool. It remains small or inconspicuous during the cold winter months.

However, as temperatures warm in the early spring, lawn burweed initiates a period of rapid growth and begins to form spine-tipped burs in the leaf axil. It is the fruit or seed that produces the painful bur.

Some key characteristics that will help to identify burweed is hairy leaves that are divided into numerous segments small, inconspicuous flowers, and spine-tipped burs that are found in the leaf axil.

The real identifier is once the plant reaches a reproductive stage the small fruit clusters and small rosette buttons begin to form down in the leaf axils.

At the tip of each seed is a tiny spine that eventually dries at maturity. What’s left causes pain as they stick into tender flesh of bare feet, knees, hands, or whatever parts of the body that may come in contact with them.

If a lawn had burweed last summer and no pr-emergent herbicide was applied to it in the fall, it is likely the burweed will reemerge this summer.

Once the fruiting clusters have formed and produced the tiny seeds and spines, killing the plants will only eliminate the weeds.

The tiny spines and seed will remain and will continue to inflict pain on anyone who steps on them for another summer.

There are several good post-emergent herbicide choices that will control this weed along with most other winter annual weed species, but timing is critical.

Some good post-emergent herbicides include Atrazine, 2,4-D, Dicamba, Metsulfuron Methyl, and Chlorsulfuron.