Burr Medic (Medicago Polymorpha)

Burr medic is another of the trifoliate type lawn weeds, meaning its leaves are grouped together in bunches of three. With serrated green leaves, it has long reddish creeping stems, and small groups of pea sized often yellow flowers. It grows prickly burrs, which begin as small green pods and later dry out, becoming brown in colour.

Similar trifoliate weeds are clover and oxalis, and these three broadleaf weeds can be easily confused for each other. If you’re not sure, we can help with accurate weed identification.

Burr medic can quickly cluster and spread in garden beds and lawns. Its deep tap root encourages its survival in dry conditions beyond what lawns can handle. It grows from seed alone, so control is easy if you prevent it from seeding with mowing or removal. It may take a few years to eradicate.

Burr medic can be controlled by regular mowing since its seed heads and flowers in mature plants mostly exist within mowing height. Hand pulling is an easy and effective treatment for burr medic weeds.

Lawn Addicts can also recommend top-quality couch, kikuyu and buffalo grass weed killer for burr medic.