EPPO Global Database

• EPPO Code: XANST
• Preferred name: Xanthium strumarium
• Authority: Linnaeus

X. strumarium is a widespread weed of cereal cultivation spread through human agricultural activity in the Northern Hemisphere. Opinions are divided whether it spread from Northern Asia or from Northern America. It has been found in Bronze Age sites in Europe, which suggests that its introduction was ancient. Now distributed throughout Mediterranean and Balkans, Russia, Caucasus, Siberia, Russian Far East, Central Asia, Western Asia, Himalayas, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indochina (Thailand), China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, southern Africa, Caribbean, South America (northern).