Family |
Zygophyllaceae
Tribulus terrestris
L.
Tribulus terrestris L.
First published in Sp. Pl.: 387 (1753).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 457, Pl. CXCI, 1; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Prostrate annual, hairy or silvery-silky, with stems spreading from the crown, 10–30 cm long or more.
Leaves: Opposite, with 4–6 pairs of leaflets hairy or silky on both surfaces; stipules short and lanceolate.
Inflorescence & flowers: Axillary flowers on stalks much shorter than the leaves. Lanceolate sepals shorter than the corolla; orange-yellow petals 5–6 mm long. Ten stamens surround a shaggy ovary with an almost stalkless, pyramidal stigma.
Fruit: Hard fruit segments with thick ribs, a more or less keeled back and appressed hairs. Each segment bears four spines, although the lower pair may be undeveloped.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Spring.
Habitat & elevation: Cultivated and abandoned ground.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Nahr Sainik, Saida, Beirut, Tripoli, Abey, Ras el Metn, Jisr el Qadi, Afqa, Ksara and the AUB farm.
Syrian distribution: Hama, Homs, T4 and Banias.
Recorded locations: Bqaatouta.
Native range: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Altay, Angola, Assam, Austria, Baleares, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Bulgaria, Burkina, Burundi, Buryatiya, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Central European Russia, Chad, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Corse, Cyprus, Czechia-Slovakia, Djibouti, DR Congo, East Aegean Is., East European Russia, East Himalaya, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, France, Free State, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Gulf States, Hainan, Hungary, India, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kirgizstan, Korea, Kriti, Krym, Kuwait, KwaZulu-Natal, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Manchuria, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Mozambique Channel Is., Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Caucasus, Northern Provinces, NW. Balkan Pen., Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Qinghai, Romania, Rwanda, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sicilia, Sinai, Socotra, Somalia, South China Sea, South European Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan-South Sudan, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tibet, Togo, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuva, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, West Himalaya, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Introduced into: Alabama, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, Bolivia, British Columbia, California, Chile North, Colorado, Delaware, Ecuador, Florida, Galápagos, Georgia, Germany, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Jawa, Kansas, Kentucky, Lesser Sunda Is., Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Northwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Caledonia, New Guinea, New Jersey, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Territory, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Panamá, Pennsylvania, Peru, Primorye, Queensland, South Australia, South Carolina, South Dakota, St.Helena, Tennessee, Texas, Turks-Caicos Is., Uruguay, Utah, Victoria, Washington, Western Australia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.