XANTHUM, in botany, a genus of the monocotia pentandra class. The common calix of the male is imbricated;
the corolla is funnel shaped, and divided into five segments; and the receptacle is palaceous: The calix of the female consists of two leaves, including two flowers; it has no corolla; the drupa is dry, mucronate, and divided into two segments; and the nucleus has two cells. There are three species, only one of them, viz. the strumarium, or lesser burdock, a native of Britain.