''Koeberlinia spinosa'' is a species of flowering plant native to the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

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 ''Koeberlinia'' is a genus of flowering plant. It is the sole genus in the family ''Koeberliniaceae''. Alternately it is treated as a member of the Capparaceae. Species ''Koeberlinia'' includes two species: *''Koeberlinia holacantha'' W.C. Hol ...

. Alternately it is treated as a member of the caper family. This is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

of moderate to large size, sprawling to maximum heights over . 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 Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...

s. In the west it ranges into the southern, and central Sonoran Desert of

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, and southern and southwestern Arizona; it also ranges into three areas of

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

-(part of the Sonoran Desert).

References

External links

*
Jepson Manual Treatment: ssp. ''tenuispina''Photo gallery
Flora of Arizona Flora of Baja California Sur Flora of New Mexico Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of Texas Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Flora of the Rio Grande valleys Flora of the Mexican Plateau Brassicales Taxa named by Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini Flora without expected TNC conservation status Flora of the Sierra Madre Oriental {{Brassicales-stub