Koeberlinia spinosa
Quick Summary
Koeberlinia spinosa is a woody, thorny plant native to the drier regions of North America and Bolivia. It is the sole species in the family Koeberliniaceae. This plant is characterized by its reduced leaves and often has fewer stamens than petals. The fruit of Koeberlinia spinosa is a berry. While most members of the Brassicales order produce glucosinolates, which are sulfur-containing compounds responsible for the characteristic taste and smell of plants like mustard, Koeberlinia spinosa is an exception as it does not have these compounds.1
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crucifixion thornKoeberlinia spinosa, the only species of the family Koeberliniaceae, with green thorns at right angles to the branches, produces small, four-petaled, greenish flowers and clusters of black berries. Canotia holacantha, of the family Celastraceae, has ascending green thorns and rushlike green branches; it bears five-petaled…
Read MoreKoeberlinia spinosa, the only species of the family Koeberliniaceae, with green thorns at right angles to the branches, produces small, four-petaled, greenish flowers and clusters of black berries. Canotia holacantha, of the family Celastraceae, has ascending green thorns and rushlike green branches; it bears five-petaled…
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BrassicalesBataceae, Salvadoraceae, and KoeberliniaceaeKoeberliniaceae includes just one species, Koeberlinia spinosa, a woody, thorny plant that grows in the drier areas of central and southwestern North America and in Bolivia in South America. It is vegetatively very like other nondescript thorny desert shrubs, and the leaves are very reduced, but its flowers often have…
Read MoreKoeberliniaceae includes just one species, Koeberlinia spinosa, a woody, thorny plant that grows in the drier areas of central and southwestern North America and in Bolivia in South America. It is vegetatively very like other nondescript thorny desert shrubs, and the leaves are very reduced, but its flowers often have…
Read More