caltrop

Meanings

Plural: caltrops

Noun

• tropical annual procumbent poisonous subshrub having fruit that splits into five spiny nutlets; serious pasture weed
• a plant of the genus Trapa bearing spiny four-pronged edible nutlike fruits
• Mediterranean annual or biennial herb having pinkish to purple flowers surrounded by spine-tipped scales; naturalized in America
• A metal object, usually small, with spikes arranged so that, when thrown onto the ground, one always faces up as a threat to pedestrians, horses, and vehicles (also used as a heraldic charge).
• The starthistle, Centaurea calcitrapa, a plant with sharp thorns.
• Any of a number of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, including several members of the genus Kallstroemia and the species Tribulus terrestris, native to warm temperate and tropical regions.

Synonyms

Centauria calcitrapa, devil's weed, knapweed, star-thistle, Tribulus terestris, water chestnut, water chestnut plant