From the Topics in Subtropics blog The following article is from the UC ANR Integrated Pest Management website, authored by Cheryl Wilen. http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74128.html Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris) is an aptly named summer annual found widely in California.
As we are in the mid-summer, many fields in the low desert region are preparing for soil solarization. Soil solarization is a widely adopted pest control method by organic growers in the low desert region.
I was inspired by Sarah Morran's blog post "Introducing new researchers in the UC Davis Weed Science Group" and decided to look at the other end of the spectrum.
Dr. Mohsen Mesgaran, who joined the Weed Science Group this year as our weed ecophysiologist, found this plant growing on the research farm at UC Davis. African spiderflower is a summer annual broadleaf plant in the caper family (Cleomaceae), growing up to 3 ft tall and wide.