Citation: L., Sp. Pl. 1049 (1753).

Synonymy: Not Applicable

Common name: None

Description:
Annuals or perennials; leaf blade flat; ligule membranous or ciliate.

Inflorescence of simple spikes or racemes; spikelets with 1 fertile floret, sessile in an involucre of coalescing spines which falls off with the spikelets permanently enclosing them; glumes 2, the first smaller, the first lemma barren or enclosing a male floret, second (fertile) lemma and palea hardened, similar to one another.

Distribution:  About 25 species, cosmopolitan. (Key and descriptions mainly from C. A. Gardner (1952) Flora of Western Australia 1 and Weston (1974) Nuytsia 1:375-380.)

Biology: No text

Key to Species:

1. Mature inflorescence not spiny	C. ciliaris 1.
1. Mature inflorescence spiny
2. Involucre with a ring of slender bristles in the outermost series . C. longispinus 3
2. Involucre with flattened spreading more or less irregular spines, without a ring of slender spines at the base
3. Burrs glabrous to short-pubescent; 2-4 spikelets per burr; florets 3.4-5.8 mm long	C. incertus 2.
3. Burrs densely pubescent; 1 spikelet per burr; florets 6.8-8.7 mm long	C. tribuloides 4.

Author: Not yet available