Those awesome goat heads

You're talking about my yard again..

Rained there too, huh? Nice little flowers, don't you think?

Where in hell do you live where goat heads sprout out of the ground?!


You're real name isn't Asmodeus is it Roger?!

Yikes! You know what I thought you were speaking of, right?

Is this what you mean?

All about goatheads:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris

When I was a kid, we had goatheads, in Fresno, CA. At first, it was hard to play in the yard, barefoot as we were, they were that numerous. Goatheads and big red ant hills. But we wore them away soon enough, and most of the ants left there too. Haven't had experience with them since I was six or seven.

That's it, and good pictures though the could have shown a seed in the orientation that explains the goat head name. I suppose for the benefit of tsarstephen, I should learn Latin nomenclature. He is so easily confused.

Yep. I'm a brunette blond.

I clicked 'Show Picture' but it didn't work for me. Thanks anyway.

Sorry! Robert/Craven warned about bandwidth. I can no longer tell what picture is safe to post. You get the message, "this may be subject to copyright", etc.

Thanks for letting me know, Rog. I'll keep trying to do the image shack bit.

there are many many people who think that Russian Thistle (tumbleweed) is the defining flora of the southwest, Goatheads rule.

I could see it, Letty, by clicking on my control button and what on a mac computer is a little blue box with an x; then I select show image in another window, and there it was, a little pink flower.

If I remember, it's a red box for a pc.., and pc people have to (I forget how) click on properties, and then image in a new window.

Hah, I went back to check the photo to guess if the plants were related, and it's showing on my screen now. I don't know if they're related or not. I think Roger and I have the genuine worst goatheads.

I have Russian thistle too, Dys, dammit.

That just totally ruined my evening!!! A warning would be nice...

Wikipedia says we aussians call them bindiis - bollocks. That's a devil's thorn. Bindii's hurt when you tread on them but those damn things you call goats heads puncture bike tires.

PS when I first read this thread I though the topic was a typo and you were talking about Goatherds. And I thought, 'Geriatrics reminiscing about previous occupations'.

Sorry. I just voted my own post down.

Well, that wasn't necessary, Silly. Just warn me ahead of time and I'll be fine. : )

Snort. That too.

I happen to despise garden gloves, like I used to despise but absolutely have to wear gloves for some lab tests I did, like I refused to wear gloves when I washed off inked copper etching plates with kerosene a lot of years ago. (Any carcinoma I ever get will have multiple possible origins.)

Well, here at Goathead Villa I do wear at least partly leather garden gloves, and even then..
Besides, they jump. They attach to your socks with some kind of goathead leap, or the hem of your jeans. G'forbid you should be wearing shorts. They get in shoe treads, and then on carpets. Well, one learns quickly to shoe check.

They reach out for dog paws.

You musta REALLY been dry out your way. Most of the pictures on the net show it growing despite large cracks in the dry ground.

In my case I don't have ground as such. Or even soil. It's shifting sand, is what it is.