The aliases of Shayuanzi include Astragalus, Shayuanzi, and Tribulus terrestris.

Shayuanzi is distributed in Northeast China, North China, Henan, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Jiangsu, and Sichuan. Grows on roadsides, ditch banks, grass slopes and hay fields at an altitude of 1000-1700 meters. It has strong adaptability, likes warmth and sunshine, tolerates drought and is afraid of waterlogging, and has loose requirements on soil. Well-drained and fertile sandy soil is better, but it can also grow on other lands.

Plant Characteristics

The main root is cylindrical, up to 1 meter long. The stems are supine, single to multiple, 20 to 100 cm long, ribbed, hairless or sparsely covered with thick short bristles, and branched. Pinnately compound leaves with 9 to 25 leaflets; stipules are free, lanceolate, 3 mm long.

The leaflets are oval or obovate-oblong, 5 to 18 mm long, 3 to 7 mm wide, with blunt or slightly absent apex, rounded base, hairless above, and sparsely covered with coarse hairs below. , petiole is short.