Plants annual to perennial, herbaceous, pubescent to glabrescent. Stems prostrate to decumbent. Leaves opposite, one ot he leaves at each node noticealy smaller than the other, sometimes aborted and he leaves appearing alternate, evenly pinnate; stipules ovate to lanceolate or subulate; leaflets 3-10 pairs, opposite, shortly petiolulate to sessile, oblique, oblong to ovate or elliptical. Flowers solitary, axillary or pseudoaxillary, pedicellate, radially symmetric, usually yellow, rarely white; discs annular, fleshy, 10-lobed; sepals 5, free, pubescent, caducous or persistentusually shorter than the petals; petals 5, free, spreading, obovate, quickly falling; stamens usually 10 in 2 whorls, rarely 5, inserted at the base of the disc, 5 inner stamens shorter than the outer stamens, filaments unappendaged, anthers oblong; ovaries sessile, ovoid or globose, beset with long silky hairs, with 5 locules, placentation axile; locules with 2-5(-10) obliquely pendulous superposed ovules; styles 0-4 mm long, stout, simple but 5-ridged, stigmas 5-rayed or capitate. Fruits schizocarpic, winged or spinous, pubescent, septicidally dehiscent into 5, triangular, indehiscent indurated, trans¬versely locellate, 1-seeded mericarpsl seeds without endsoperm at maturity.
Tribulus is sometimes reported to have 25 species but the World Flora Online recognizes only 12. It treats the subspecies of Tribulus longipetalus recognized in the Flora of Pakistan, including Tribulus longipetalus subsp. longipetalusI, as synonyms of other species.