File:Gomphocarpus fruticosus fruit DC2.jpg

English: Introduced warm season erect perennial shrub 0.5-2m tall. All parts of the plant exude a milky sap when broken. Leaves are narrow or very elongated in shape (4-12.5cm long and 5-15 mm wide), oppositely arranged and borne on short stalks 3-10mm long. Flowers are borne in loose, drooping clusters of 3-10 in the forks of the upper leaves. Flowers are white or cream coloured, with five waxy petals that are fused together at the base with hairy lobes 6 to 7 mm long; they have five pouch-like projections that form a distinctive crown-like structure (a corona). Fruit are balloon-like, 4-7cm long and covered in soft spines. It is a common weed of grasslands, open woodlands and riparian areas, where it can form dense thickets that compete with and replace native plants. It is poisonous to livestock and humans and dense infestations can substantially reduce the productivity of pastures.