| Author | (Nuttall ex de Candolle) Heller | |
| Distribution | Known from 4 widely spaced records in the Piedmont, southern Coastal Plain, and the Outer Banks. Collections range from 1985 (Mecklenburg County) to 2016 (Currituck County).
Native of central and southwestern portions of the U.S.; adventive eastward. | |
| Abundance | Very rare. However, easily overlooked and ought to occur in other counties. | |
| Habitat | Dry sandy roadsides, railroads, clearings. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting April-June. | |
| Identification | Members of Spermolepis are wispy, branched plants that may grow a few inches to a foot or more tall; branches tend to be virgate/ascending, often dichotomous. The leaves are divided into linear or filiform segments. This one differs in its prickly fruits (vs. bumpy but not prickly in the other two species). | |
| Taxonomic Comments | | |
| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | SE | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACU link |
| USACE-emp | FACU link |
