@hingehead,
They haven't gotten a tire since I went to all kevlar, but there are also certain fields I've learned not to ride across.
Do you also have what we not Latin speakers call Russian Olive? Before kevlar, I tried tire liners. One of them penetrated the tire, stopped at the liner, and kind of slithered around it, finally working its way through the tube.
@squinney,
Squinney, I don't think we had 1/4" of rain from mid March through the end of July. Now, we're not used to much, but this year has been way below normal. At least there was a pretty good snow pack in the mountains. Neither of the rivers has dried up. Well, the third one did, but only a New Mexican or a Mojave Indian would call the La Plata a river.
@roger,
Not to be confused with new mexican olive, which I planted two of, one still surviving (Forestiera neomexicana).
@roger,
I find mentions of
Elaeagnus angustifolia but I don't think it's common - I've never heard of it or seen it. I can't find an image of a thorn/seed either - can you?
@hingehead,
That seems to be the formal nomenclature.
I used 'russian olive thorn photos' within google and got a couple. The best couldn't be copied, and the others didn't show the detail I wanted. Our Riverwalk Park is attempting to gradually remove them, mostly because they are an invasive species. Give them a high enough water table and they grow like crazy, even in our salty, alkaline soil.
I remember goatheads! Not for the plant itself, but for the seeds which used to puncture our bicycle tires.
@littlek,
Yep. That's the ones, alright.
@roger,
I also used the seeds for jewelry.
@littlek,
That's interesting.
<Roger makes sign of cross>
@hingehead,
Huh? Eleagnus augustifolia is a shrub I know of, at least somewhat, and I'm doubter on the terribleness.. (UCLA, right by the parking lot above the art building)
I suppose I can be proven wrong..
Ack, that is russian olive? oy, vey.
Backs up, turns around, runs away.
@ossobuco,
Do not doubt the lethality of Russian olive. Not up there with honey locust, but a darn respectable spike.
@roger,
Yeh, I don't, but I didn't remember that one was the other.
Accccccccccck.
Goathead Thorn: Last but Not Least of the Evil Plants
by Kathryn (Kathy) McKenzie Nichols
Published March 12, 2008 by:
A Weed That's Dangerous to People, Pets and Livestock
We human beings are rather smug about our accomplishments. That's why it's always so devastating when nature shows it can beat us, and easily.
I realized this some years ago when a mere plant seed punctured my son's bicycle tire.
My son was riding his bike at the school playground, and when he came home, pointed out that he had a flat tire. I was puzzled, but we had the tire fixed. Then the following week it happened again.
It was the fault of a little plant that I didn't even know existed, the goathead thorn (Tribulus terrestris).
Also known as puncture vine, caltrop, bull's head, and Texas sandbur, this weed came to California sometime in the early 20th century from Eurasia and Africa, probably attached to the wool of imported sheep. California is now one of the worst infested states, along with Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Texas.
Goathead thorn is a little low-growing weed, so flat to the ground that you might not even notice it unless you were looking for it. Rather deceptive, because if it weren't for the seeds, you would completely overlook it.
The seed case does look a little like the shape of a goat's head. That is, if the goat's head had big spikes sticking out of it.
It's about the nastiest, sharpest thorny thing I've ever seen. In addition to being able to pierce bicycle and auto tires, the seed spikes can injure people, pets, and livestock.
Goathead thorn is a problem throughout the Western United States. It is especially a problem for ranchers, who must deal with sheep, cattle and horses who are injured by the thorns, either by eating them or stepping on them.
One little goathead plant can produce up to 5,000 seeds a year. The seeds persist in the soil for as long as 20 years, making it very hard to completely eliminate it.
Farmers and ranchers really hate goathead thorn. The plants compete with crops for water. And the sharp seed burrs are very bad for livestock, since the spines can puncture their mouths, digestive tracts, and feet. The plants are also toxic to grazing animals, particularly sheep.
There's a grass here in the a-hole o' whose seeds resemble the goathead's nutlets.
Their seeds are the bane of my cyclist existence.
@InfraBlue,
Please brush your tires before visiting New Mexico.
@roger,
I should probably empty my bilge too.
