Caltrops

(Centaurea calcitrapa)

 

Color Photograph: Photographer Unknown

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Caltrops (Centaurea calcitrapa)

Identification: Flowers with base ovate to round, topped by a spray of rose to lavender florets. Apices of florets subdivided. Bracts of flower hugely expanded into massive yellow spines. Branches and stem smooth, stiff. Leaves toothed and subdivided near the base. Plant 1 to 2 feet in height.

Distribution: Found in scattered localities in the eastern United States from New York to Mississippi. Also found in the Pacific Northwest and American Southwest.

Habitat: Caltrops is a weed of disturbed areas such as roadsides and empty lots.

Flowering period: June to October.

Caltrops (Centaurea calcitrapa)

Similar Species: 

The combination of the huge yellow spines of the flower head and the toothed, subdivided leaves easily identify this species.

Similar Species

No Similar Species