puncturevine


 * Scientific Name**://(Tribulus terrestris//)


 * Common Name(s**): //puncture vine//, //goathead//


 * Origin:** //Puncture vine// is not native to North America, it is native to the Mediterranean.


 * Identification:** Broadleaf weed with an extensive root system. Leaves are finely divided into four to eight pairs of leaflets, and stems and leaves are covered with hairs. The mature plant grows prostrate on open ground but almost erect in dense vegetation. The yellow flowers are borne singly in the junctions between the leaf base and stem and open only on sunny mornings.

-seeds turn into nasty needles that can pierce a bare foot or flatten a bike tire. -The seeds live three to five years. Many people control the weeds by pulling them. -//Puncturevine// is a toxic plant and a serious weed in pastures, roadsides, waste places, and cultivated fields. - If grazing animals happen to eat a bur, it may cause injury to the mouth, stomach and intestines.
 * Characteristics:**


 * Habitat:** Typically in the Okanagan (warm climate)


 * Control/ eradication recommendations**:Weevils are a natural predator to //Puncturevines//. They are host specific, which means they eat //Puncturevines// and only //Puncturevines//. The adult female seed weevil deposits an egg in a small hole she chews in the green seed. Then she seals it with fecal material. The egg hatches and burrows its way inside the green seed.

http://www.goatheads.com/home/gh1/page_41 http://www.goatheads.com/home/gh1/page_47/gobbling_up_goatheads.html
 * References:**