Top

Scientific Name
Family
Common Names
Origin
Naturalised Distribution
Habitat
Habit
Distinguishing Features
Stems and Leaves
Flowers and Fruit
Reproduction and Dispersal
Environmental Impact
Legislation
Management
Similar Species
Print Fact Sheet
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWYXZ

Click on images to enlarge

Photo by Lalithamba - Flickr.com (CC BY 2.0)

By Marco Schmidt (Own work (own foto)) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Georg Ehret [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Martynia annua

Scientific Name

Martynia annua L.

Family

Martyniaceae (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia)
Pedaliaceae (Northern Territory)

Common Names

devil's claw, devil's-claw, ice plant, iceplant, small fruit devil's claw, small-fruit devil's-claw, smallfruit devil's claw, small-fruited devil's claw, smallfruited devil's claw, tiger's claw, tiger's-claw

Origin

Native to Mexico, Central America (i.e. Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) and the Caribbean.

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in northern Australia (i.e. in northern and central Queensland, in some parts of inland northern New South Wales, and in the northern parts of the Northern Territory).

Also naturalised overseas in south-eastern Asia (e.g. Indonesia and Malaysia) and on some Pacific islands (e.g. New Caledonia).

Habitat

This species is found in tropical, sub-tropical and semi-arid regions. It is a weed of disturbed sites, riparian areas, floodplains, roadsides, waste areas, pastures and crops.

Habit

An upright (i.e. erect) and short-lived (i.e. annual) herbaceous plant growing 0.25-2 m tall.

Distinguishing Features

Stems and Leaves

The greenish coloured stems are relatively thick, much-branched and covered in sticky (i.e. glandular) hairs.

The oppositely arranged leaves are covered with the same sticky (i.e. glandular) hairs and are borne on stalks (i.e. petioles) 9-14 cm long. These leaves are relatively large (7-15 cm long and 6-15 cm wide), kidney-shaped (i.e. reniform) or almost circular (i.e. orbicular), and have five to seven shallow lobes.

Flowers and Fruit

The tubular flowers (3-5 cm long) are borne in small clusters (i.e. racemes) near the tips of the branches, each cluster containing several flowers. They are pink, lavender or whitish in colour with darker purplish coloured markings on the five petal lobes and a line of yellow spots in the throat. These flowers are borne on stalks (i.e. pedicels) 10-20 mm long and have two stamens. Flowering occurs during summer and autumn.

The fruit is a relatively large fleshy capsule containing two large seeds. These fruit are initially green in colour but turn grey to black and become woody as they mature. Each fruit tapers to a short curved projection (i.e. beak or horn) that splits to form two curved 'claws' topped with short spines (body of fruit 2-3 cm long and 1-2 cm wide, with horns 5-10 mm long). The seeds are brown to black in colour, oblong in shape and somewhat flattened.

Reproduction and Dispersal

This species reproduces by seeds that are retained in the 'clawed' fruit. These fruit are easily spread when they become attached to animals, clothing, farm machinery and other vehicles.

Environmental Impact

Devil's claw (Martynia annua) is regarded as a significant environmental weed in the Northern Territory, where it is actively managed by community groups. It is also regarded as a potential environmental weed in other parts of northern Australia and was recently listed as a priority environmental weed in one Natural Resource Management region.

Legislation

This species is declared under legislation in the following states and territories:

Management

For information on the management of this species see the following resources:

Similar Species

Devil's claw (Martynia annua) can be confused with purple-flowered devil's claw (Proboscidea louisianica) and yellow-flowered devil's claw (Ibicella lutea). These species can be distinguished by the following differences: