Emex spinosa Campd.
Diagnostic description:
A hairless annual with erect or decumbent stems up to 40 cm long. Leaves oval or ovate-triangular, often cordate; 2 to 10 cm long. Petioles up to 10 cm long. Flowers greenish, with 6 perianth segments; in axillary cymes, the female ones unstalked, in the lower parts, the male ones in the upper parts. In fruit, the perianth enlarges to between 5 mm and 1 cm long, becoming hard and angular and tipped with stout spines; often becomes reddish.
Distribution:
Local: Common in Gibraltar. Found mainly at North Front Cemetery and scattered along the East Side and southern parts.
Global: Found throughout the Mediterranean region and in the Canary Islands.
Ecology:
Flowers from (February) March, April to May (June).
Habitat:
Grows on sandy soil, and on disturbed and waste ground.