Puncturevine is a warm-season, mat-forming annual weed with an extensive root system. It spreads by seed and is most often found on sandy, dry, or gravelly sites. Puncturevine produces clusters of sharply pointed burs that break apart at maturity. Leaves are finely divided into 4 to 8 pairs of leaflets, and are covered with hairs. Slender, hairy stems branch from the base and from leaf axils. Yellow flowers have 5 petals, are 1/2 inch wide, and are borne singly in leaf axils from midsummer until frost.
