''Kallstroemia californica'' is a species of flowering plant in the caltrop family known by the common name California caltrop. It is native to the deserts of the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and northern Mexico.

Description

''Kallstroemia californica'' is a mat-forming annual herb which grows in thick carpetlike masses on sandy substrates. The branching stem has compound leaves which are each made up of several widely spaced pairs of small oval-shaped green leaflets. It produces individual flowers with five rounded or oval petals and a ring of ten

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s. The fruit is a small body a few millimeters wide of ten conjoined nutlets which split apart.

External links

Calflora Database: ''Kallstroemia californica'' (California caltrop, California kallstroemia)Jepson Manual eFlora treatment - ''Kallstroemia californica''''Kallstroemia californica'' - Photo gallery
californica Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Natural history of the Colorado Desert Natural history of the Mojave Desert Taxa named by Sereno Watson Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Rosid-stub