Sandburs

Sandburs are the curse of the Sandhills. I guess it's a price we have to pay for living in such a beautiful place. But I have to say that when God talks about the thorns in the ground being a curse, I can certainly relate to it. I have people who don't live in this part of the country ask me what they are. So to set the record straight, I'll give a little pictorial.

 This is what they look like, they are little globes with needle sharp points all around. And when they stick to you they must have little prongs that hold tight. It's not uncommon to pull out a sandbur and find little slivers in your finger for weeks. Sometimes they swell up and get infected. These suckers just plain hurt. This is one tiny little bur...

 This is what they look like in early summer when they're green. This is when they need pulled out. I've heard that each tiny sandbur can hold over 1,000 seeds. They are pretty at this stage....

 Here are some more. They are prolific and grow tall and in patches. Even if you mow them down they will continue to creep low on the ground and then shed their harvest to reseed for another year. I've also heard they can lie dormant in the ground for years.

Here are some that were drying and ready to drop their burs. Our old house had tons of these things. The first few years we lived there, the kids and I would go out every morning and pull them out of the ground. We could pull for an hour every morning. The work did finally pay off and the grass took root enough that the sandburs were nearly eliminated by the time we sold our house.