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Prickles on a blackberry branch. In plant morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles, and in general spinose structures (sometimes called spinose teeth or spinose apical processes), are hard, rigid extensions or modifications of leaves, roots, stems, or buds with sharp, stiff ends, and generally serve the same function: physically defending plants against herbivory.
Many species of cactus have long, sharp spines, like this Opuntia. A cactus (pl.: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) [3] is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (/ kækˈteɪsi.iː, - ˌaɪ /), [a] a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. [4] The word cactus derives, through Latin ...
Aralia spinosa is an aromatic, spiny deciduous shrub or small tree growing 2–8 m (7–26 ft) tall. It has a simple or, occasionally, branched stem with very large bipinnate leaves 70–120 cm (30–45 in) long. The trunks are up to 15–20 cm (6–8 in) in diameter, with the plants umbrella-like canopy in habit with open crowns.
Opuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. [1] Cacti are well-adapted to aridity; however, they are still vulnerable to alterations in precipitation and temperature driven by climate change. [2]
The plant's leaves have been reduced to spines, 6 to 12 of which grow from each areole. Young branches are covered with 2 to 3 cm (3 ⁄ 4 to 1 + 1 ⁄ 6 inches) silvery-yellow spines, which darken to a gray color with age. These spines form a dense layer that obscures the stems. Slower growing or older branches have sparse and/or shorter spines.
The species is also established as a naturalized plant in California. [2][3] Rubus pensilvanicus is a prickly shrub up to 3 meters (10 feet) tall. The canes are green at first but then turn dark red, usually ridged, with copious straight prickles. The leaves are palmately compound, usually bearing 5 or 7 leaflets.
Spines emerge with leaves, and like leaves grow for a short period before stopping growth and hardening. Spines do not regenerate so weathering and abrasion can wear away all but the youngest spines from older specimens - leaving smooth trunks and branches. To some extent, branches are a characteristic of the genus. Some caution is warranted in ...
Burs serve the plants that bear them in two main ways. Firstly, burs are spinescent and tend to repel some herbivores, much as other spines and prickles do. [3] Secondly, plants with burs rely largely on living agents to disperse their seeds; their burs are mechanisms of seed dispersal by epizoochory (dispersal by attaching to the outside of ...