Koeberlinia spinosa

Koeberlinia spinosa is a species of flowering plant native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico known by several common names, including crown of thorns, allthorn, and crucifixion thorn. It is one of two species of the genus Koeberlinia, which is sometimes considered to be the only genus in the plant family Koeberliniaceae. Alternately it is treated as a member of the caper family. This is a shrub of moderate to large size, sprawling to maximum heights over 4 m (13 ft). It is entirely green while growing and is made up of tangling straight stems which branch many times. The tip of each rigid stem branch tapers into a long, sharp spine. Leaves are mainly rudimentary, taking the form of tiny deciduous scales. Most of the photosynthesis occurs in the green stem branches. The shrub blooms abundantly in white to greenish-white flowers. The fruits are shiny black berries each a few millimeters long; they are attractive to birds.

Koeberlinia spinosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Koeberliniaceae
Genus: Koeberlinia
Species:
K. spinosa
Binomial name
Koeberlinia spinosa
Natural range

Koeberlinia spinosa can be found in northern regions of the Mexican Plateau and in the east down into the northern foothills of the Sierra Madre Orientals. In the west it ranges into the southern, and central Sonoran Desert of Sonora, and southern and southwestern Arizona; it also ranges into three areas of Baja California Sur-(part of the Sonoran Desert).[1]

References
  1. Little. Atlas of United States Trees, Volume 3, Minor Western Hardwoods, Map 95-SW, K. spinosa.

Further reading
  • Little. Atlas of United States Trees, Volume 3, Minor Western Hardwoods, Little, Elbert L, 1976, US Government Printing Office. Library of Congress No. 79-653298. Map 95-SW, Koeberlinia spinosa.

Media related to Koeberlinia spinosa at Wikimedia Commons

  • "Koeberlinia spinosa" (PDF). Digital Representations of Tree Species Range Maps from "Atlas of United States Trees" by Elbert L. Little, Jr. (and other publications). United States Geological Survey.
  • Jepson Manual Treatment: ssp. tenuispina
  • Chihuahuan Desert Plants
  • Photo gallery


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