USGS Weeds in the West project: Status of Introduced Plants in Southern Arizona Parks Factsheet for: Tribulus terrestris L. William L. Halvorson, Principal Investigator Patricia Guertin, Research Specialist U.S. Geological Survey / Southwest Biological Science Center Sonoran Desert Field Station University of Arizona 125 Biological Sciences East Tucson, Arizona 85721 Prepared by Patty Guertin December 31, 2003 Funded by: U.S. Geological Survey National Park Service Table of Contents: Tribulus terrestris L..............................................................................................................................3 puncturevine, punctureweed, goatshead, tackweed, Mexican sandbur, bullhead, burnut, ground burnut, caltrop, land caltrop ................................................................................................................3 synonymous names of the species:................................................................................................... 3 species taxonomy ................................................................................................................................. 3 image of plant ...................................................................................................................................5 similar native or non-native species that could confuse identification.................................. 5 biology .................................................................................................................................................... 6 growth and reproductive strategy:...................................................................................................6 seed production:................................................................................................................................7 seed dispersal:...................................................................................................................................7 seed longevity: ..................................................................................................................................8 ecology.................................................................................................................................................... 8 origin and history of introduction:...................................................................................................8 ecological distribution / habitat:.......................................................................................................8 climatic requirements and limitations: ...........................................................................................9 germination:......................................................................................................................................9 soil preferences: ..............................................................................................................................10 competitive abilities:.......................................................................................................................11 why it does well as an exotic: .........................................................................................................11 effect on natural processes/description of the threat ............................................................... 11 known general distribution............................................................................................................. 12 United States: .....................................................................................................................................12 Arizona, by county:.............................................................................................................................12 National Park Service, southern Arizona group: ..............................................................................12 Casa Grande Ruins National Monument ......................................................................................13 Chiricahua National Monument....................................................................................................13 Coronado National Memorial.........................................................................................................13 Fort Bowie National Historic Site..................................................................................................13 Montezuma Castle National Monument and Montezuma Well unit ...........................................13 Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument .......................................................................................14 Saguaro National Park...................................................................................................................14 Tonto National Monument.............................................................................................................14 Tumacacori National Historical Park............................................................................................14 Tuzigoot National Monument ........................................................................................................14 Weeds in the West Project..................................................................................................................15 control methods and management strategies ............................................................................. 15 Competition:........................................................................................................................................15 Hand labor: .........................................................................................................................................15 Mowing/Mechanical:...........................................................................................................................15 Grazing:...............................................................................................................................................15 Herbicides ...........................................................................................................................................15 Biological controls:..............................................................................................................................16 Control strategies: ..............................................................................................................................17 contacts or technical specialists .................................................................................................... 17 bibliography........................................................................................................................................ 18 additional sources and websites .................................................................................................... 22 websites with great plant photos: ......................................................................................................23 websites with simple plant descriptions and/or photos: ...................................................................23 some websites with great info:...........................................................................................................23 2 Tribulus terrestris L. puncturevine, punctureweed, goatshead, tackweed, Mexican sandbur, bullhead, burnut, ground burnut, caltrop, land caltrop family: Zygophyllaceae synonymous names of the species: the first name in each species list is the current and synonymous name used by Kartesz (1994). the name in bold type occurring within each species list indicates the plant name used within these documents, which is also the name provided in the southern Arizona NPS exotics database ‘soaraz~1.xls’ (Holden 1996). Tribulus terrestris L. no synonymous names species taxonomy Tribulus terrestris L., goatshead, puncture vine: From California Department of Food and Agriculture, EncycloWeedia (2002), Downton (1975), Felger (2000), Hickman (1993), Kearney and Peebles (1960), Parker (1972), Reddi et al. (1981), Shreve and Wiggins (1964), Squires (1979), USDA,NRCS, The PLANTS database (2001), Whitson et al. (1992): (A glossary is provided at the end of this section for the plant terminology used in this section.) life strategy: a C4, summer annual; ephemeral. Reproduces by seed. In tropical areas, this plant develops woody roots and becomes perennial. 2n=12, 24, 36, 48. structure: prostrate spreading radially, generally less than 3.3 ft. (1 m) in diameter, herbaceous annual plant; mat forming. roots: deep taproot (to 8.5 ft. (2.6 m)); slender, branched, often somewhat woody, with a network of fibrous roots. stems: prostrate stems up to 8 ft. (2.4 m) long. Stems highly branched, green to reddish- brown, and spreading radially from the crown along open ground; can be more or less erect when shaded or competing with other plants. Stems are silky or appressed-hairy, sharply bristly to glabrous. branching: radially spreading stems (from the crown); the stems highly branched. stipules: stipules leaf-like, subulate, 2-3 mm long. leaves: cotyledons oblong, 0.2-0.6 in. (5-15 mm) long, creased down the center, slightly indented at the tips. Leaves opposite; even-pinnate compound, approximately 0.4-2 in. (1-5 cm) long, with 3-7 leaflet pairs per leaf; and having a small extension at the rachis tip. Leaflets elliptic or oblong, 0.1-0.6 in. (3-15) mm long, with more or less