Re: Paliuris spina-christi
Vavourakis wrote:
>
> Is anyone familiar with the Crown of Thorns shrub? There is a wild specimen
> growing near here which is over 10 feet tall, bald of leaves, and has huge thorns up
> to 3 1/2" long. The widely-spaced branches are woody and flexible, and there is a
> long leathery seed pod attached to one of them. Is this the Paliuris spina-christi
> or another species?
Karen
I don't actually know this shrub and I rather think I don't want to!
However I looked it up in the local edition of Botanica and evidently it
is known on this side of the world. They confirm that, though it is
usually a shrub, it can sometimes grow into a small tree, and say it has
tiny yellow flowers and "decorative " fruit. They also suggest it makes
an excellent barrier (I am not surprised).
Most Botanica pictures are very helpful, but the one with this entry
just shows part of a branch in the distance against the sky which is
very sparsely set with twiggy growths plus a few very dead-looking
brownish leaves. A few odd things sticking out might be the long spines.
Possibly it was taken in Autumn when the thing was just losing its
leaves (It is apparently deciduous).
I think you can be pretty sure you have identified your specimen
correctly. It seems to quite well correspond to the description in my
book. It might be worth confirming in due course whether it is actually
deciduous and what sort of flowers it has.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata (near Wellington, capital city of New Zealand)
