Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Emex spinosa
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Emex spinosa
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Rumex spinosus
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5 (2005)
Emex spinosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Emex spinosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Emex spinosa
COMMON NAME:
Spiny Emex
NameThatPlant has no pictures at this time. You might try this link: Flora of the Southeastern United States
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Emex spinosa
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Emex spinosa
FAMILY
Polygonaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Rumex spinosus
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 5
Emex spinosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Emex spinosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Emex spinosa
4140
Forb
Annual
Monoecious
Habitat: Disturbed areas, not recently collected and perhaps only a waif, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Mediterranean Europe
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Northeast
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Southeast
- SC List of Regulated Pest Plant Species, 2017
- USDA Federal Noxious Weeds, 091820
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Outer tepals bear spines
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly basal
Petioles 2-29cm long
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
Greenish
6 tepals, the outer three bearing spines
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- New Invaders of the Northeast and Northcentral US (Rawlins et al., 2018) p025
- New Invaders of the Southeast (Rawlins et al., 2018) p029
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".