How to Grow and Care for Rhatany

Other names for trailing krameria (Krameria lanceolata) include krameria and trailing ratany. It’s also called prairie sandbur, because it produces a fuzzy, spine-covered fruit. In other words, a “bur.” This species is indigenous to North America.

White ratany (Krameria grayi) is a perennial shrub with grayish-green to grayish-white foliage and loose clusters of beautiful purple blossoms that bloom from spring to fall. Fruit ripens in fall and is purple and covered with curved thorns. Native to Mexico's Baja California it is commonly found growing in rocky dry soil and desert areas.

Littleleaf ratany (Krameria erecta) is a flowering shrub that is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It blooms early in the year and produces pink flowers that develop into small fruits covered in pink spikes. It can survive in very dry soil due to the fact it is a root parasite that can siphon nutrients, particularly water, from the roots of adjacent plants.

Manystem ratany is a small, woody shrub with a sprawling growth habit, featuring branches that are densely intertangled. Its rough bark and narrow, green leaves adapt well to its arid homeland. Pink to purple flowers distinctive for their four elongated sepals bloom sparsely, giving way to barbed fruits that cling to passersby for seed dispersal.