Note 11 — Relation of the Filipinas Islands

That is, “star-thistles”—the common name of a genus (Tribulus) of plants, which bears prickly fruits, very injurious to the feet of animals or men. The military instrument called “caltrop” resembles that fruit, from which it may have been evolved; and the appellation tribolo is one of the etymological elements in “caltrop.”