Tribulus terrestris; caltrop

Japanese: ハマビシ(浜菱) - ハマビシ（英語表記）Tribulus terrestris; caltrop

It is an annual or biennial plant of the family Tribulus. It is one of the so-called pantropical species that are widely distributed in the tropics of both the Old and New Worlds. In Japan, it grows on the coastal sands of warm areas west of the Tokai region. The branched stems can reach a length of 1 m and are covered with soft hairs. The leaves are even-pinnately compound, opposite, and have 4 to 8 pairs of oblong leaflets, 2 to 6 cm long. The undersides of the leaflets are particularly densely covered with white fluff. In summer, yellow flowers grow singly in the leaf axils. The flowers are small, with five calyxes and five petals that are elliptical, and the ovary is densely hairy. The fruit has two thick, horn-shaped thorns. In herbal medicine, the fruit is called shitsurishi (salt-pulling fruit) and is used as a tonic, blood purifier, and lactogen.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ハマビシ科の一年草または越年草。新・旧両大陸の熱帯地方に広い分布をもつ，いわゆる汎熱帯種の一つで，日本では東海地方より西の暖地の海岸砂地に生える。茎は分枝してはい，長さ 1mに達することがあり，軟らかい毛がある。葉は対生し偶数羽状複葉で長さ2～6cm，長楕円形の小葉を4～8対もつ。小葉の下面には特に白い綿毛が密生する。夏に，葉腋から黄色の花を単生する。花は小型で，萼は5片，花弁も5枚で楕円形，子房にも密に毛がある。果実は角状の2本の太いとげがある。生薬では果実をしつり子 (しつりし) と呼び，強壮，浄血，催乳薬とする。

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