Devil's Claw

Martynia annua

Alternative Name(s): Small-Fruited Devil's Claw, Tiger's Claw.

Family: Martyniaceae which is sometimes included in the Pedaliaceae.

Form: Herb

Origin: Native of Mexico to Nicaragua and to the Caribbean Islands.

Flowers/Seedhead: Flowers: Flowers in several flowered racemes. Flowers summer and autumn.

Description: Bushy annual herb to 2 m high. Leaves kidney-shaped to circular, mostly 6–15 cm wide, both surfaces equally hairy, margins with shallow lobes; leaf stalk 9–14 cm long. Pod green and fleshy at first, drying to a black woody capsule. Seeds brown to black, 2 to each pod.

Distinguishing features: Distinguished by leaves and stems covered with sticky glandular hairs; leaves pumpkin-like; flowers tubular, 4–6 cm long, predominantly white to pink with 5 spreading lobes at the apex, each lobe with a prominent purple spot, throat with red and yellow spots, fertile stamens 2; pod to 4 cm long and to 1.5 cm wide, with recurved claws about 1 cm long.

Dispersal: Spread by seeds that remain in the pod and are transported when the hooked fruits catch on Passinq objects.

Confused With: Proboscidea and Ibicella species also naturalised in Australia, but these species have larger claws on the fruit.