Koeberlinia spinosa

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Koeberlinia spinosa
Koeberlinia spinosa WikiPlant.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Koeberliniaceae
Genus: Koeberlinia
Species:
K. spinosa
Binomial name
Koeberlinia spinosa
Koeberlinia spinosa range map.png
Natural range

Koeberlinia spinosa is a species of flowering plant native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico and India 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 can be found in northern regions of the Mexican Plateau and in south Indian regions 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]

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<i>Psorothamnus spinosus</i> Species of legume

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<i>Nolina bigelovii</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Condea emoryi</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Fraxinus anomala</i> Species of ash

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<i>Yucca <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> schottii</i> Species of flowering plant

Yucca × schottii is a plant species in the genus Yucca, native to southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and the northern parts of Sonora and Chihuahua. The common names are Schott's yucca, hoary yucca, and mountain yucca. The "×" in the name indicates that this is a nothospecies, regarded as being a natural hybrid between two other species. In this case, Yucca × schottii is believed to have originated as a hybrid between Y. baccata and Y. madrensis. Yucca × schottii is firmly established and does reproduce freely in the wild.

Eysenhardtia orthocarpa is a species of small flowering tree, in the family Fabaceae. Its range is at the northern region of the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera of eastern Sonora; it is also in central Sonora, with the species ranging into southeast Arizona and the extreme southwest, bootheel region of New Mexico, the entire sky island region at the northern cordillera called Madrean Sky Islands.

<i>Frangula betulifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

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References

  1. Little Jr., Elbert L. (1976). "Map 95, Koeberlinia spinosa". Atlas of United States Trees. Vol. 3 (Minor Western Hardwoods). US Government Printing Office. LCCN   79-653298. OCLC   4053799.

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