Talk:Bur

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 26 August 2021 and 25 December 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Filippendo.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 16:25, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Comments

I'd like to include some more subcategories in this stub. Maybe we could expand on some more specific forms of plant life that have burs? Or elaborate on how/why plants use burs? (Megoodell (talk) 23:32, 24 April 2012 (UTC))

I will soon be adding more information about different types of burs. Megoodell (talk) 17:05, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

Just added some information about stems. There is also now a References section, so footnotes can now be included. Megoodell (talk) 02:55, 1 May 2012 (UTC)

I just added a section about the purpose of burs, as well as a few common household names of plants that have burs. Megoodell (talk) 18:06, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

Is there anything else anyone would like added? Suggestions or comments? Megoodell (talk) 17:01, 4 May 2012 (UTC)

Hi MG, welcome. I hope you will be contributing a long while yet. I have done a bit of editing to your article. Better check and see how you feel about it. Do lots of reading in the Help files and style guide, and check out other articles to see how people have been writing. For purposes of this article you might like to read up about the teasel (Dipsacus, especially the fuller's teasel, Dipsacus sativus) and see how it is used. And how about mentioning chestnut burrs?

Go well, JonRichfield (talk) 19:10, 4 May 2012 (UTC)

"Common plants with burs" Maybe add Cleavers / Goosegrass Galium aparine? It's the one I encounter most (not that I have any specialist knowledge) Julesomega (talk) 09:42, 20 June 2015 (UTC)

Sure, why not a relatively gentle bur. Added. Sminthopsis84 (talk) 14:52, 20 June 2015 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was not moved. --BDD (talk) 16:30, 10 September 2013 (UTC)

Bur → Burr (plant hook) – Unfortunately, as far as I know this hook is most commonly called a "burr", not a "bur". I've personally never encountered this spelling before. Is it an WP:ENGVAR thing? If so, feel free to speedy close this request. Red Slash 01:36, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

• Comment "burr" is also what I expect -- 65.92.182.123 (talk) 02:15, 3 September 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose - 3:2 for "a bur" + fruit = 7,330 vs ["a burr" + fruit = 4,980] in Google Books. In ictu oculi (talk) 02:25, 3 September 2013 (UTC)
  • Not that that means too awful much. Too many possibilities. I would not associate a burr with a fruit in any case, even though of course they are related to fruits. I would expect "burr" to come up more with regard to socks. Red Slash 03:11, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Well with respect, any search result means more than no search. Before submitting proposals to move articles the onus is on the proposer to evaluate sources first, or even open discussion on Talk page first. In ictu oculi (talk) 08:07, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

With respect, and acknowledging that you are absolutely right, I found no way to distinguish between the subject of this article and other possible "bur" or "burr" words. When considering the move, I figured that either A) there would be a clear consensus immediately that "bur" is ridiculous and it would be moved, or B) multiple people would chime in saying they were familiar with "bur", and the move would fail (in fact I'm half-tempted to just withdraw it now, except that a couple of people have semi-chimed-in with supportive comments). I knew coming in that I had no leg to stand on data-wise and have been thoroughly enlightened by many of these comments, including yours. I do appreciate your kind, respectful response. Red Slash 02:16, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

It is easy, imo, to assume one spelling is correct, the one you are familiar with, and these discussions are usually useful. --(AfadsBad (talk) 03:15, 4 September 2013 (UTC))

• Here in England they are called burrs. I had never heard of the spelling "bur". I googled for "bur" and "burr" separately, and both searches were swamped by other meanings. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 10:01, 3 September 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose I think it is an WP:ENGVAR thing. I'm familiar with the spelling "bur" in the US. I think I've come across "burr" before, but it locks very strange to me to have the common names of bur-bearing plants spelled with two "r"s. I did some Google testing with burdock/burrdock and cocklebur/cockleburr and results were pretty mixed (burrdock did seem to show up more in UK contexts, but the UK beverage "dandelion and burdock" is almost always spelled with a single "r"). Moving in order to free up "bur" for the disambiguation might be appropriate, but I'm not a fan of the "(plant hook)" disambiguator. They are botanical fruits, although I realize they aren't fruits (fleshy and sweet) as commonly defined. Maybe "burr (seed)"? Not totally accurate botanically, but close enough. Plantdrew (talk) 16:27, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

• Oppose The most common spelling of bur(r) is going to be hard to prove. Even if the two 'r' version is proven, adding "(plant hook)" as the disambiguator looks to be entirely made up, as I couldn't find that odd term in any sources. Google "plant hook" and you'll see it's a metal thingy to hang plants on. My first choice for disambiguator among all these imperfect ones would be "(seed)". First Light (talk) 16:37, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

• Oppose The Concise Oxford Dictionary says "bur (also burr)". My impression is that although both spellings are used in the UK, there's a slight difference in usage: "bur" is more likely to be a hooked fruit, "burr" a swelling on a stem. An old British reference book – J. Gordon Cook (1968), ABC of Plant Terms – has "BUR, BURR. Prickly-headed or hooked fruit ..." and then the next entry "BURR-KNOT. Rounded swelling on a shoot, ...". The built-up structures produced by shoots at the base of trees like limes (Tilia spp.) are often called "burrs", spelt this way (see e.g. here). So I think that it would be wrong to change to the title "Burr". Peter coxhead (talk) 17:57, 3 September 2013 (UTC)
  • Fascinating! Great work! Red Slash 02:16, 4 September 2013 (UTC)
    • Being English, I would respectfully disagree. "Burr" is certainly the commonest spelling for the hooked whatsit as well. Never seen it (or anything else) spelled "bur". Having said that, if "bur" is the normal American spelling then we should stick with it per ENGVAR. -- Necrothesp (talk) 16:13, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

      I'm English too, and at first I thought as you did. But then I did some research. All the English dictionaries I have access to give the spelling as "bur" first, "burr" second for the hooked structure – not just the Oxford dictionaries but also the Cassell one I have. In the names of British flowering plants, the spelling is always with one "r": check the BSBI list (Excel spreadsheet). The only double-r spelling I can actually find in a British source refers to the wood feature. I would be very interested to see British sources with "burr" referring to the fruit – I'm sure there must be some, but I haven't found any yet. Peter coxhead (talk) 16:42, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

• To add to the confusion (mine), I'm American and growing up I always thought it was "burr" with two "r"s. As I've been going through American sources (high quality wildflower books in particular) I see that "bur" is far more common. Go figurre.... I can no longer trust myself as a reliable source.... First Light (talk) 20:25, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

• Ifeel smug and superior-I already knew I was not a reliable source. I suspect the feeling will last until someone corrects the spelling in another one of my articles. --(AfadsBad (talk) 21:36, 4 September 2013 (UTC))

• Oppose Although the usage may be unfamiliar to some, it is the spelling for the botanical term in American English. If it is different in non-American English, these spellings should be included, made a redirect, and discussed and sourced in this article. --(AfadsBad (talk) 18:08, 3 September 2013 (UTC))
  • This one gets me a little bit. I'm confused - it can't be an American spelling, can it? I'm very much an American and have never seen "bur" before. Red Slash 02:16, 4 September 2013 (UTC)
    • I assume it is, as I'm American, and it's the spelling I am familiar with. However, I did search on-line dictionaries and a couple of botany glossaries, one on-line, one brick, all American references, and all but one list it at "bur," and one on-line dictionary listed alternate of "bur." Some plant terms are too technical to check general dictionaries, but this one is commonly used in the vernacular and has general dictionary meanings on-line. I also did a google dictionary search ("glossary" or "vocabulary" or "dictionary," etc.) and found "bur." Are you a botanist? And have never seen this spelling before? Although I checked, it is the familiar spelling in American botanical field guides or texts that use it; it's what I see. --(AfadsBad (talk) 03:13, 4 September 2013 (UTC))
• Oppose – I don't care which spelling is used, but the "plant hook" doesn't work for me. Merriam Webster says "1. usually bur a : a rough or prickly envelope of a fruit b : a plant that bears burs ... 3. : an irregular rounded mass; especially : a tree burl". The whole round mass is the bur/burr, not each of the individual hooks on, say, an Arctium lappa flower head. The plant that produces them is also a Bur/Burr. I'd favour Bur (plant) or Burr (plant). Sminthopsis84 (talk) 13:05, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Consistency

The first definition on this page says: "A bur (also spelled burr) is a seed or dry fruit or infructescence that has hooks or teeth." But the page on chestnuts mentioned that: "The fruit is contained in a spiny (very sharp) cupule 5–11 cm in diameter, also called 'bur' or 'burr'", and these burrs do not have either hooks or teeth. So, it this definition inaccurate or should the chestnut burrs be named something else? Also, what I would call a burr, regarding a chestnut is neither a seed or a dry fruit but a protective outer layer that surrounds the nuts, but perhaps I'm wrong. Dhrm77 (talk) 16:34, 29 October 2018 (UTC)