Species page

Unicorn Plant

Proboscidea louisianica subsp. fragrans var. subsp. fragrans

Many of the common names of this plant come from the hook-tipped fruits, which, when they dry, each split in half lengthwise to form two opposed hooks that easily catch in fur or cloth or around the ankle of livestock. This dark-flowered subspecies of the common devil’s claw is common in the Trans-Pecos, while the related lighter-flowered subspecies occurs in many other parts of the state. Although an annual, it can form a clump to six feet across with sticky, unpleasant-smelling leaves, usually growing in weedy or disturbed areas and around cattle pens. It flowers mostly n the summer.