Ok. Seeds are going into pot tonight! We'll see if they sprout without that stratification. Heh, I have plenty to experiment with.

Several things, actually.

In Puncture Vine (Tribulus terrestris), each flower produces five "goat heads". While they are still on the plant, these burs are in a circular arrangement, attached to the remain of the flowers by the "base of the skull" with the "horns" pointing out. In woofie's plant, the burs are sort of stacked on top of each other.

Puncture Vine burs have two main spines that are stout, unbranched, and unbarbed. They are designed for penetration of tough surfaces. You generally won't find them in animal fur, but instead, stuck in their feet. The burs on woofie's plant also have two main spines, but they are heavily branched and appear somewhat delicate. They look like hooking-type burs rather than stabbing-type burs, which would be consistent with finding them in horse manes or dog fur.

The seedheads of Puncture Vine are on fairly long (up to an inch) penduncles, while the seedheads on woofie's plants appear to be sessile or nearly so.

Puncture Vine is a very leafy plant with the burs concealed in the foliage. They wouldn't be exposed along the stem like that.

I could go on, but doubt anyone wants me to......

Would it help to post a photo of the remains of the plants in place? There are a couple of spots near my front gate where their little desiccated bodies are to be found.

Kent, good info - thanks. Woofie, yes, post whatever you can find. Kind of a little treasure hunt, isn't it?

The more photos we can view the better chance that someone will recognize what it is.

I can't offer any guesses other than to say what I think it is not...and Kent has already done that beautifully.

The only experience I've had with the 'Goat's Head' was when I stepped on one inside my house while wearing no shoes. The efficient shape reminded me of the Caltrops thrown on the road to puncture vehicle tires. How it came to be inside my house I do not know but it did not look like the photos that woofie posted - those appear to be in stacks of 3.

Edited to add:
When I say goat's head I am referring to the Tribulus terrestris:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

It could also be that the common name of goats head may refer to different plants in different regions.

my guess--something in the Ambrosia genus--ragweed. I don't know what you may have up there in the NE part of the state, but I am imagining maybe you could have one of those smaller prostrate, creeping kinds or a subshrub that makes burs very similar to those in your photo

or something like that???
we have some nasty ones down here in the desert...

Don't know how useful this photo will be, but this is one of the places it was growing. You can see it didn't get very tall, and sort of sprawls on the ground.

More questions now. I see rather large leaves, dried leaves, in the photo. Might they be from the same plant? Or do they belong to a known plant?

Is there any way you can carefully remove one whole plant and take a detailed photo of it, away from the other vegetation?

Your picture of the plant definitely looks like Cenchrus longispinus, and the burrs from that plant are very similar, too. The only thing that is different is the distribution of the burrs. Cenchrus longispinus is the only grass-like weed that grows prostrate and has burrs like that that I can think of. The thing is, Cenchrus longispinus produces burrs that grow in clusters, not evenly distributed like that. I am now thoroughly curious as to what this is! I hope you find an answer soon.

greene, those leaves are from the large cottonwood tree growing behind where the weeds are. Heh, and NO! I'm not touching those nasty, stickery plants! I did put some of the stickers into a small pot to see if anything comes up.

After looking at the photos of the Cenchrus longispinus, I agree that the distribution of burrs is very different. These are consistently spaced out along the stem as shown in my first photo. And these burrs aren't nearly as spiney.

Hmmm, maybe someone at an Extension office could help with the ID. Think I'll see if I can find someone in officialdom to send a photo to.

Palmer's Grappling Hook, maybe? The burs look a little different, though maybe it's just because they're dry (I don't have any reference pictures of the plant all dry like that). Also, you're a little farther north than their usual range.

http://primrosebio.com/wp-cont...

Whew, I still can't find anything that matches.
I did find this site with a list of very annoying sticking seeds/burrs but I have to go eat dinner now. Anyone want to check the list and see if anything looks right?
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/...

I'm beginning to thing we need to call in the big guns for this ID. Is there any way this could be a foreign invader?

I did look at that, it is driving me crazy too!

I still think it looks similar to this:

http://www.hazmac.biz/040209/0...

but this grows in the desert and it can't be this

Even a 'wrong' answer can help to direct us toward the correct ID. This is surely one of the most difficult IDs to date.

I sent an email with photos to the local weed board just now. Maybe they can help.

And here is their response:

"Hello. The weed in your photographs is Catchweed (Asperugo procumbens L). It is an annual introduced from Europe. It is a common weed of roadsides, waste places, pastures, corrals, cultivated areas and barnyard areas. It reproduces by seed. It does not compete well with grass and tends to mature and dry up early in the growing season. It is a weak-stemmed, somewhat viny, with rough-textured leaves and stems which are covered with small, siff bristly hairs that readily cling to animals and clothing. Flowers are small, blue to deep violet. Seed pods have a distinctive "clam shape" but are toothed. Plants can grow to 1-4' long. As far as prevention, learn to identify plants early in the season and control at that time. Cultivation will help if it is done before the seeds form. Hand pulling is more difficult as the plant tends to break off, but if you only have a few it can be done-be sure to get all of the root. Herbicides can be effective (because of the bristly hairs use a good surfactant). It is too late at this point to spray it and be effective-if you use herbicides it would need to be done when it is actively growing next season. Let us know if you would like specific herbicide recommendations or if you have any other questions."

Wow. That was quick! And this photo from the database looks VERY familiar!

Love the common name! Glad you got a definitive answer and so quickly.

Yay!--on the ID, I mean, now we know That was fast

so the seeds are in those little pointy clam shells?
actually, as far as weeds go, it doesn't seem positively evil and blue flowers are...well, blue, I guess, and I like blue, to a fault sometimes.

Might be worthwhile cleaning it up and getting rid of as many seeds as possible so that you will have less to contend with next season and for years to come...

I found a Creative Commons image. Here it is.


I'll go back and copy the license info now to make it legal. (Done!)