The Vanishing Sandspur

Kids growing up on Marco Island in the 1970s were all too familiar with sandspurs. They were everywhere. But chances are many of today's Marco Islanders have never experienced the pain of stepping on a patch of sandspurs.

Sandspur is a grass-like plant known for its sharp, spiny seed heads that cling to skin, clothing, balls—you name it.

Diane Fowler and Kate Nelson were victims of surprise attacks by sandspurs as kids.  

“My first encounter with sandspurs happened during a piggyback ride across a vacant lot on the way to the beach in 1973,” said Fowler, who grew up on the island in the 1970s. “I ended up flat on my back in a patch of those little devils.”

“While throwing a frisbee with some friends,” Nelson said, “I went to catch it in an open field barefoot. The pain was unbearable. Both feet were covered with sandspurs."

Mark Creighton remembers the all-pervasive sandspurs while growing up on Isles of Capri in the early 1970s.

“Vacant lots were the kingdom of sandspurs,” Creighton said. “We all know it’s true. If we threw a ball into a vacant lot, it was covered in sandspurs. Nobody in their right mind would walk across a vacant lot barefoot. In fact, even taking one step into a vacant lot barefoot was more of a risk than most people were willing to assume.”

Local old-timers used to say that the person who invented Velcro got the idea from sandspurs. It was actually the burs from a burdock plant that inspired Velcro, according to Velcro.com. 

So how does one remove sandspurs from skin or clothing or a wayward volleyball? You sure don’t want to pick them off with your fingers. Some say using a comb is the way to go. Faye Brown, who grew up on Marco in the 1940s, used a different technique.

“Dig your foot into the loose sand to remove sandspurs,” Brown advises. “I did it many times when I attended the old school at Caxambas.”

“They were rough,” said Tara O’Neill, who grew up on the island in the 1960s and 1970s. “Ya had to flick ‘em off!"