# Very spiny plant



## Jerry in MN (Dec 2, 2007)

This past summer I had some volunteer plants that looked kinda like tomato plants as they were upright, maybe a little smaller than an average tomato plant. IIRC they had yellow flowers similar to tomato. The leaves were sort of lobed, and looked most like those of watermelon. What was most unusual was that there were spines all over the plant, even on the leaves. Pretty sure that round, spiny fruit were also starting to form before I pulled up the plants. Also I think there were a few Colorado beetles on them. One more clue: they were growing about where the previous owners had bird feeders.
Most likely not a thistle.
What the heck were those plants?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i don't know, but i mistook them for groundcherries when i was weeding and grabbed them barehanded...YEEOUCH! they had thorns that were between 1/4 and 1/2 inch...and i didn't enjoy it one bit! i thought mine had seed heads though...like amaranth. maybe they are not the same thing, but they looked like some sort of solanacae to me.


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## Jerry in MN (Dec 2, 2007)

Yes, the spines/thorns were nasty! Pretty sure I had to use leather gloves to pull the plants. And yes, probably solanaceae = nightshade family.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

buffalo burr

http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/yellows/yellow93.html


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## Jerry in MN (Dec 2, 2007)

Bingo! Buffalo burr it was. Thanks!


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i see what jerry meant about looking like a tomato. my spikey weed looks like a a ground cherry.


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