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Tribulus terrestris
| Common name: |
Caltrop |
Family: |
Zygophyllaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
50, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Europe - N. France and eastwards to E. Asia. |
| Habitat: |
Dry open habitats, often as a weed in Europe[50]. Sandy seashores in Japan[58]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
1 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Pedalium murex[E,H]
T. terrestes[H]
T. terrestrus[Sn1,Sn2,Stz]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Abrojo [E], Burra Gokeroo [E], Burra Gokhru [H], Burra Gookeroo [H], Chi Li [E], Chih Hsing [E], Goatsheads [S], Gokru Kalan [E], Gokshura [E], Gotub [E], Hasach [E], Ji Li [E], Kadava Gokharu [E], Kathe Nerinnil [E], Khasake Kalan [E], Kon Jarah [E], Nd [E], Pai Chi Li [E], Puncture Vine [S], Puncturevine [B,P], Sha Yuan Chi Li [E], Tu Chi Li [E], Tzu [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
terrestris = growing on the ground;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Sapindales. Creosote-bush family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Africa; Britain; China; India; Iran; Iraq; Kurdistan; Lesotho; Malaysia; Spain; Sudan
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA
PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmaina, Northen Territory (Aust). |
Physical Characteristics
Annual/Biennial growing to 0.6m at a fast rate. It is frost tender. It is in flower from April to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs).
We rate it 1/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires dry or moist soil.
The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Fruit; Leaves.
Leaves and young shoots - cooked[144, 177]. A nutritional analysis is
available[218].
Fruit - cooked. The unexpanded seed capsules are ground into a powder and
made into a bread[2, 144, 177, 179]. A famine food, it is only used when all
else fails[2]. Composition
- Leaves (Fresh weight)
-
In grammes per 100g weight of food:
Water: 79.09
Protein: 7.22
Ash: 4.6
In milligrammes per 100g weight of food:
Calcium: 1600
Phosphorus: 80
Iron: 9.22
VitaminC: 41
Source: [218]
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Abortifacient; Alterative; Anthelmintic; Aphrodisiac; Carminative; Demulcent; Diuretic; Galactogogue; Infertility; Pectoral.
The seed is abortifacient, alterative, anthelmintic, aphrodisiac,
astringent, carminative, demulcent, diuretic, emmenagogue, galactogogue,
pectoral and tonic[4, 147, 176, 178, 218]. It stimulates blood
circulation[147]. A decoction is used in treating impotency in males,
nocturnal emissions, gonorrhoea and incontinence of urine[4, 240]. It has
also proved effective in treating painful urination, gout and kidney
diseases[240].
The plant has shown anticancer activity[218].
The flowers are used in the treatment of leprosy[218].
The stems are used in the treatment of scabious skin diseases and
psoriasis[218].
The dried and concocted fruits are used in the treatment of congestion, gas,
headache, liver, ophthalmia and stomatitis[218].
Other Uses
None known
Cultivation details
We have very little information on this species and are not sure how
successful it will be in Britain. There are conflicting reports on its
hardiness - according to one report it is native to N. France which should
make it hardy in Britain[50] whilst another report says that it is only hardy
in zone 10 which means that it is not frost tolerant[200]. We would suggest
treating it as a frost tender annual and then experimenting with its
hardiness. It is likely to require a well-drained dry to moist soil and is
also likely to be tolerant of maritime exposure.
The plant is very fast growing from seed[50].
A good bee plant[156].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to
handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after
the last expected frost.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Pedalium murex (a possible synonym).
References for Tribulus terrestes (a possible synonym).
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
References for Tribulus terrestrus (a possible synonym).
References for the family Zygophyllaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.
[144] Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976 ISBN 0-00-634436-4
A very good pocket guide.
[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
[156] Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Useful Wild Plants in Australia. William Collins Pty Ltd. Sidney 1981 ISBN 0-00-216441-8
A very readable book.
[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.
[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.
[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
Readers Comments
Main Search Page
Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Tribulus+terrestris
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Tribulus+terrestris
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