Prickly Chaff Flower
Devil's Horsewhip
Achyranthes aspera
Herbaceous weed observed in a Nairobi garden. Kenya, Africa. April 2011.
Herbaceous weed observed in a farming area hedgerow, Eldoret, Kenya, January, 2012.
HERB: Herbaceous weed about a meter tall with upright stems that are
sharply prickly below the flowers. Long slender stems may be supported by other vegetation.
FLOWERS: The flowers are small, but bright pink in color. The scaly
bracts around the flowers become tough and elongate with very sharp tips. This
makes weeding and pulling them out a painful enterprise. Tall narrow spikes with many flowers.
LEAVES: Leaves are elliptical and have a bubbly surface between the
veins.
RANGE: This plant is native to tropical Africa and is a widespread to
common garden weed. This plant has become a weed to many other tropical and
subtropical lands through human-caused dispersal.
FRUIT: One seed within each dry seed capsule.
ARMED. The stems all have sharp, downward point bracts.
Bart Wursten, a developer of one of the most useful websites devoted to African flora, Flora of Zimbabwe, supplied the identification.