tribulus

[Lat., from Gr. tribolos =a caltrap (q. v.), various plants with fruit like caltraps; spec. (1) Tribulus terrestris, (2) Fagonia cretic a, (3) Trapa natans (q. v.)] five-parted; petals five; spreading; stamens ten; Bot . The typical genus of Tribulee (q. v.). Calyx style short or absent; stigma five-rayed. Fruit of five capsular, pentagonal carpels, spinous or tubercular on the back; cells five, indehiscent; seeds many. Tropical and sub-tropical regions. Tribulus terrestris (Linnæus), from which T. lanuginosus (Linn.) is not distinct, is a trailing annual, about nine inches long, with yellow flowers, found in many warm countries, including India, the south of Europe, and the West Indies. In the last-named locality, where it is called Turkey Blo om, it is sometimes cultivated in gardens for its fragrant flowers. In pastures the prickly fruits wound the feet of cattle. Fowls feed and become fat upon the plant, of which they are very fond. In India its fruits are regarded as cooling, diuretic, astringent, and tonic; they are given in painful micturition, calculus, urinary affections, and gonorrhea. Some times the fruit and root are boiled to form a medicated liquid. Another Indian species, T. alatius , has similar qualities. The South American T. cistoides is an aperient. T. terrestris may very po ibly be the "thistle" of Matt. vii. 16, and the "brier" of Heb. vi. 8.