Hierba Del Sapo

Eryngium nasturtiifolium Juss. ; Delar. f. Eryng. 46. 1808
Eryngium compacium Small, Fl. SE. U. S. 863. 1903.
Prostrate, ascending or erect, glabrous biennials or perennials, 1-3 dm. high or long, from a fascicle of fibrous roots or a slender taproot, the stems several, leafy, branched from the base; basal leaves spatulate or oblanceolate, 3-10 cm. long, 1-3 cm. broad, cuneate at the base, coarsely dentate to runcinate-pinnatifid, the teeth or lobes mucronulate or spinose, the venation reticulate; petioles broad, winged, up to 10 cm. long; cauline leaves like the basal, spinosedentate or spinose-pinnatifid; inflorescence divaricately trifurcate or cymose, the lateral branches often elongate and continuous to form a monochasium, the heads numerous, small, nearly sessile, the flowers numerous; heads ovoid to ovoid-cylindric, 5-15 mm. long, 4-8 mm. broad; bracts 5-9, rigid, spreading, subulate to linear-lanceolate, 8-20 mm. long, entire, pungent, about equaling the heads; bractlets lanceolate to obovate, 4—9 mm. long, broadly scariousmargined at the base, entire, exceeding the fruit; coma of several short bractlets 3-7 mm. long, resembling the bracts; sepals ovate, 1—1.5 mm. long, obtuse or acute, mucronulate, serrulate toward the apex; petals oblong to obovate, 0.5-1 mm. long; styles shorter than to exceeding the sepals; fruit ovoid-globose, 2-3 mm. long, densely covered with elliptic to linear, white or flavescent scales up to 2 mm. long.
Type locality: "Americae meridionale," Houston,
Distribution: Texas and Baja California to Mexico and Vera Cruz; Cuba. (Palmer 11,517,