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caltrop
noun
a. a low-growing plant (Emex australis) having many hard, sharp, spiny seeds that are extremely painful to step on and which will sometimes even puncture through shoe soles.
b. one of these seeds. Compare bullhead, California puncture weed, caltrop, cat head1, cat's eye1, double-gee, goat's head.
Contributor's comments: We called them cat's heads growing up in western NSW and were constantly repairing punctures in our bike tyres thanks to them. Mostly referred to caltrop in the Southern Flinders where we live now.
Contributor's comments: I seem to recall that "caltrop" was a medieval anti-horse weapon. Metal multispiked devices that were scattered in large numbers in the path of enemy horseman. Designed to land with one spike always pointing upward to penetrate hooves and disable horses. A very appropriate usage in the Australian context!