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Tribulus cistoides L.
Ae/cAltrop
Ace Common Name: Puncture vine; burr-weed; Jamaican feverplant; Hawaiian Islands (Wagner et al. 1990). Common or present as a
weed in many countries around the world (Holm et al. 1979). In Synonymy: Kallstroemia cistoides (L.) Endl.
the 1960s, seed and stem weevils were successfully introduced to Origin: East Africa; Madagascar; Mascarene Islands
the United States as biocontrol agents for T. terrestris and T. cistoides Botanical Description: Trailing perennial (sometimes annual) herb, (Maddox 1976). Weevils are now established in several Caribbean
with many-branched stems to 1 m (3.2 ft) long or longer; tap root
Islands and the Bahamas, and are often spontaneous in Florida Zygophyll woody; stems often slightly woody at base, tips erect, younger stems (Bennett and Baranowski 1981). Pollinated by honeybees (Apis
covered with silky hairs. Leaves opposite, to 10 cm (4 in) long, mellifera) in Florida (Austin 1972). May cause photosensitization even-pinnate, 5-8 pairs of leaflets; leaflets elliptic or oblong, to 2.8 and nitrate poisoning in livestock (Newbould 1998), and toxicity in cm (1 in) long and 1.2 cm (0.5 in) wide, covered with silky hairs; other mammals (SEPASAL 2002). Fruit spines can puncture bicycle margins entire, bases rounded, tips bluntly pointed; terminal leaflet tires (Hammer 1999b). Spiny nutlets are animal (Kruer and Taylor pair spine tipped; stipules linear, to 0.7 cm (0.3 in) long. Flowers showy, solitary in leaf axils, on long, hairy stalks to 3 cm (1.1 in) Distribution: Herbarium specimens documented from Brevard,
long; sepals 5, lance shaped; petals 5, bright yellow, rounded, to Broward, Collier, DeSoto, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian
2.5 cm (1 in) long. Fruit a hard spiny capsule, burr-like, to 1.5 cm
River, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, (0.6 in) across, splitting into 4 or 5 segments, each of which has Orange, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and St. Lucie counties (Wunderlin two sharp spines to 8 mm (0.3 in) long and contains one or more and Hansen 2002). Also reported from Martin County (Gann et al. 2001). Naturalized in Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Puerto Rico, NOTE: Differs from the widespread, nonnative weed T. terrestris, the Virgin Islands, and Hawaii (USDA NRCS 2002). Pantropical
which is an annual, has much smaller petals, to 1 cm (0.4 in) long,
weed that has naturalized throughout Old and New World trop- and shorter flower stalks, to 1 cm (0.4 in). ics (SEPASAL 2002), including the Pacific Islands (PIER 2002), Ecological Significance:
and Japan (RIB 2002). Targeted for removal from commercial Naturalized in Florida by mid-1940s, spreading production by FNGA/TBWG growers associations (FNGA 2001). from military bases (Austin 1999a). Earliest introductions were pos- sibly accidental, from fruits stuck in airplane tires (Austin 1999a) or other military equipment. Also used ornamentally as a groundcov- Life History: Thrives in maritime habitats and dry tropical
er for coastal plantings (Hammer 1999b) and for soil stabilization environments (Porter 1972). Salt and drought tolerant (Hammer (Porter 1972), although the spiny fruit makes it unpopular in high 1999b). Well-developed taproot supports trailing stems that may traffic areas (Hammer 1999b). Reported from 47 conservation areas form thick mats to 5 m (16 ft) wide (Newbould 1998). Flowers across south and central Florida (Gann et al. 2001, FLEPPC 2002). year-round (Taylor 1992); reproduces from seed (HEAR 2002); Invades dunes, coastal strands, sandy inland sites, pinelands, road seeds are long-lived (Newbould 1998). Spiny fruits well equipped swales, median strips, and other disturbed sites (Hammer 1999b, for efficient dispersal: they may lodge in tires and footwear, and FTG). Forms dense mats and low thickets that clamber over other attach to animal fur (Newbould 1998). Fruit spines may also vegetation. Colonizes beachfronts and roadsides in the Florida Keys facilitate germination on compacted soils (Squires 1969).
(Kruer and Taylor 1999). Occurs in coastal habitats on almost all 128 | Identification and Biology of Nonnative Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas - Second Edition, by K.A. Langeland, et al. University of Florida-IFAS Pub SP 257. 2008.

Source: http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/pdfs/SP257/Tribulus_cistoides(SP257-128).pdf