sandbur
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sand·bur
(sănd'bûr') 
n. In both senses also called sandspur.
n. In both senses also called sandspur.
- Any of several grasses of the genus Cenchrus, especially C. tribuloides, of the eastern United States and tropical America, having a spiny burlike envelope that surrounds several one-grained spikelets.
- The burlike envelope of any of these plants.
sandbur or bur grass, any species of the genus Cenchrus of the family Gramineae (grass family), sandy-soil plants of tropical and temperate regions. At maturity the sharp spines and burlike seeds make the plant a troublesome weed, especially to sheepgrowers. The name sandbur is sometimes used for the buffalo bur and the horse nettle of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family). The family Gramineae is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Cyperales. The Solanaceae is in the class Magnoliopsida, order Polemoniales.
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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