Which plants have prickles

If you continue to use this site then you are consenting to this. To find out more please see our privacy policy. The most popular plants with thorns or spines on in the UK are: Citrus — Citrus trees that grow in the wild often produce thorns to keep away hungry animals from their fruit. The proper botanical classification of these sharp projections differs depending on their origin in the plant that bears them. Thorns often arise from the main stem at leaf axils. Landscape plants with true thorns include firethorn Pyracantha , hawthorn and Japanese flowering quince.

Honey locust probably is the most notorious woody plant that bears spines, which often are compound in their occurrence. The spines of this species are so threatening that a spineless botanical variety is used for landscaping purposes. Other familiar landscape plants bearing spines include barberry and black locust. In cacti, the entire leaf of the plant is transformed into a spine. In addition to reducing water loss by restricting leaf surface area, this unique adaptation protects the succulent stem of the plant from animals that would use it for food or a source of water.

A close look reveals that they are hollow with no internal architecture that is characteristic of a leaf or stem. These prickles also occur in pairs beneath the calyx, which are the leafy structures under purple petals. Not all prickles are hollow, such as the prickles that easily pop off on a rose bush, but these are. Skip to main content. The stem of Alluaudia ascendens , in the Desert Garden, showing multiple sharp thorns. This species makes up a core component of the spiny thicket forests in southern Madagascar.

Photo by Sean Lahmeyer. Cross section of an Alluaudia ascendens thorn, with the addition of methylene blue dye for contrast. The internal anatomy matches that of a stem. The stem of Ceiba insignis silk floss tree , in the Desert Garden, showing bark with prickles. Cross section of a prickle from a Ceiba insignis silk floss tree.

The entire structure is made up of rigid dermal tissue and is devoid of any characteristics of a leaf, stem, or root. The stem of a tropical palm, Cryosophila albida , showing root spines along its trunk.

Cross section of a Cryosophila albida root spine, with the addition of methylene blue dye for contrast. The internal anatomy matches that of a root, not a stem. Related Posts. A Fruitful Perspective. Soon after Henry E. Huntington purchased the San Marino Ranch formerly owned by James DeBarth Shorb in , he learned that many agricultural crops—such as avocados, peaches, and nuts—could be grown Bless This House.

A Rose for Our Times. Experts on nomenclature—from Madison Avenue marketing executives to the parents of newborn babies—have long believed that choosing the right name can make all the difference Hairs on plants have an extreme vocabulary of their own…. Harris and Harris agree with the Flora of the Pacific Northwest that a thorn is "a stiff, woody, modified stem with a sharp point. Jackson, uncharacteristically terse, defines a thorn as "usually an aborted branch, simple or branched.

The Oxford English Dictionary indicates that this word, too, originated in northern Europe:. I continue to feel sorry for beginning botanists, but I really feel sorry for beginning linguists. The Oxford English Dictionary defines thorn as "a stiff, sharp-pointed, straight or curved woody process on the stem or other part of a plant; a spine, a prickle.

Why Do We Care? If you have a spine, a prickle, or a thorn jabbing you, it doesn't really matter if it is derived from leaf, epidermis, or stem tissue. However, how a structure originates in a plant can be an important clue in how different groups of plants are related, or are not related.

Spines, prickles, and thorns can be characteristics used in plant identification keys. For example, in the Rose Family Rosaceae , the hawthorns members of the genus Crataegus exhibit thorns derived from stem tissue , while roses members of the genus Rosa and plants in the genus Rubus blackberries, et al. Cacti Cactaceae are famously and truly spiny—spines derived from leaf tissue.

One of our flora's fiercest plants, devil's club Oplopanax horridus is "armed throughout with yellow spines. Still confused? I found this orphaned online resource helpful and full of pictures of spines, prickles, and thorns worldwide. From to she worked on biodiversity conservation and salmon recovery at the Recreation and Conservation Office in Olympia.