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Thorns, spines and prickles facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Botanists use three different words for sharp things on plants. They are thorns, spines, and prickles. Thorns are the ends of branches that are hard and sharp. Spines are hard structures with sharp ends. There are many different kinds of spines, some on leaves, some grow instead of leaves. Prickles are on the outside of stems.

Spines, prickles, and thorns protect plants from plant-eating animals (defence against herbivory). Some plants and animals, such as the acacia tree and giraffe have evolved in response to each other. The plants grow very long spines and the animals develop very long tongues to reach past the spines and feed on the leaves.

Gallery

  • Lightmatter thorns

    Prickles on rose stems

  • Gymnosporia buxifolia thorn

    A thorn is a branch with a sharp tip

  • Ocotillothron02262006

    Spines of this Ocotillo were leaves that have died

  • AcaciaXanthophloeaSpines

    Spines on this Acacia grow below the leaves (the stem is sideways in the picture)

  • Esau, K. 1965. Plant Anatomy, 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons. 767 pp.
  • Llamas, K. A. 2003. Tropical Flowering Plants. Timber Press, Portland. 423 pp.

Images for kids

  • Diferencia espina y aguijón

    (A) Thorn or spine(B) Prickle

  • Leaf morphology apical process spinose-pungent

    A spinose apical process

  • Cryosophila warscewiczii, thorns of the Silver Star Palm. (11164016416)

    "Root spines" on the trunk of a Cryosophila species.

  • Thorn image

    Smooth, featureless Citrus thorn.

  • Carissa bispinosa Uniondale 1167

    Carissa bispinosa showing characteristic branched thorns.

  • Pereskia grandifolia ies

    Areoles and spines of the tree-like Pereskia grandifolia.

  • With seperate hook

    Hooked spine of Mammillaria balsasoides

  • Wait-a-bit stem

    Raised prickles on the stem of Caesalpinia decapetala.

  • Rose Prickles

    Rose prickles.

  • Solanum viarum 1673056

    Prickles on the leaves of Solanum viarum.

  • Hulst getand blad Ilex aquifolium

    Spinose leaf margin in Ilex aquifolium.

  • Sansevieria trifasciata2

    Spinose apical process in Sansevieria.

  • Galium.aparine

    Stiff, sharp trichomes in Galium aparine.

  • Urtica dioica stinging hair

    Stinging trichome in Urtica dioica.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Espina (botánica) para niños

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