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Post by castanea on Jan 3, 2016 16:33:48 GMT -5
Three years ago I had one of these pop up in my front garden area. It quickly developed spines on every square inch of surface area. I was careful not to touch it. I researched it and could not identify it. When it started to flower I very carefully destroyed it.
This past year I had another one pop up. I quickly destroyed it and forgot about it until an article on spiny plants helped me identify it a few days ago. This plant is apparently native to Texas and surrounding states. The pain that occurs when stuck by the spines has been described as "agonizing". I live in California but the USDA does not list it as being present on the West coast at all. So this is just a warning to anyone in Sacramento County and thereabouts, that it is here.
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Post by philagardener on Jan 3, 2016 18:52:22 GMT -5
Yikes - I googled the plant to see what it looks like - quite formidable!
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Post by flowerweaver on Jan 3, 2016 19:00:14 GMT -5
As a teenager I walked through a field of this plant at night without a flashlight in sandals. It is indeed a very agonizing sting, worse than fire ants, worse than other nettles. That said, it is a lovely flower and the seeds and large taproot are edible, the latter peeled and used like a potato. The USDA shows it growing only in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma: plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CNTEOddly, other than one sickly plant recently, I have not come across it in Texas for a couple decades when it used to be prevalent. |
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Post by richardw on Jan 3, 2016 19:07:17 GMT -5
nasty looking brute alright, you just keep those on your side of the globe
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Post by castanea on Jan 3, 2016 20:29:24 GMT -5
As a teenager I walked through a field of this plant at night without a flashlight in sandals. It is indeed a very agonizing sting, worse than fire ants, worse than other nettles. That said, it is a lovely flower and the seeds and large taproot are edible, the latter peeled and used like a potato. The USDA shows it growing only in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma: plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CNTEOddly, other than one sickly plant recently, I have not come across it in Texas for a couple decades when it used to be prevalent. Sorry to hear about your night time walk. I cut my first one off at the base with tree pruners, then dug out the root which was already quite large. There was really no place to grab it even if I were so inclined - even more spines than a litchi tomato. |
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Post by steev on Jan 3, 2016 21:19:32 GMT -5
Sorry, richardw; seeds already in the mail.
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Post by richardw on Jan 4, 2016 3:27:41 GMT -5
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Post by flowerweaver on Jan 4, 2016 11:27:11 GMT -5
richardw that looks like a totally wicked plant!!! Mostly I have to deal with three kinds of Noseburn (Tragia species) in my fields. They are Euphorbias, very small and not very noticeable until they've already stung. They feel about the same as fire ants.
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Post by richardw on Jan 4, 2016 13:33:03 GMT -5
Thank goodness that nettle only grow in native forest areas flowerweaver the sting it gives is far worse than the common garden variety and growing taller than me its not nice walking into when out hiking |
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Post by gilbert on Jan 4, 2016 13:38:27 GMT -5
Chaya related to bull nettles, I believe.
I heard that native peoples harvested some of these species by digging sideways in sand dunes, thus avoiding the stinging top growth.
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