California Caltrop
Kallstroemia parviflora
Blooming at Mesquite Wash, eastern Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA on 4 Aug. 2013.
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ANNUAL HERB: Warm season annual germinates after onset of
summer rains. Low growing and often prostrate.
LEAVES: Dark green, compound leaves with an even number of leaflets. The leaves are
alternate on the stems. Leaves are sparsely long-pubescent.
RANGE: Sonoran Desert and distributed west into the Mojave Desert and
east into the Chihuahuan Desert. Often in soils adjacent to canyon washes.
FLOWERS: Small flowers roughly 10 mm
dia. Orange-yellow, five-petalled with ten stames. July to Sept.
UNARMED: Unlike puncture vine, the seeds do not have sharp spurs.
FRUIT: The spherical fruit is small, eventually breaking into several
segments (schizocarp),
and has an elongated central portion derived from the style.