In the continuing struggle to survive , many plants have developed adaptations to cope with depredation . One of these tactics is to farm shrill thorn . This deters large skimming animals from strip all of the leaf . Another method acting of tribute is for a plant to produce chemical that either kill or discourage an beast or insect from deplete that plant . Plants that have both toxic chemical and thorns are fit to handle many different threats .
Crown of Thorns
The crown of thorns ( Euphorbia milii ) is a pop houseplant that is native to Madagascar . It gets its vernacular name from the legend that it was the plant used to make the crown of thorn station on Jesus during the excruciation . Crown of irritant will grow to 5 feet tall and 5 feet spacious with diminished , oval - shaped green leaves and shiny red , pinkish , bloodless or jaundiced flowers . The stems are succulent and covered with very crisp thorn . Most members of the top of sticker ’s genus , Euphorbia , produce a thick white sap called latex that shed blood from the stalk if it is damage . It is poisonous if take in in bombastic quantities , and can cause a toxicant oak - comparable roseola when it come in contact with skin .
Black Locust
The smutty locust ( Robinia pseudoacacia ) is a mid - sized deciduous tree that ’s aboriginal to the primal and Southern United States , but has become an invasive weed in many parts of the earthly concern . It grows to 80 understructure tall and has compound leaves that resemble an acacia Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , which is where the species name comes from . It is far-famed for the honey that is bring forth when bees pollinate its flower . The young trunk and branches farm 1 - column inch prickle . Black locust is toxicant to humans when assimilate , but wildlife such as cervid often graze on its leaf .
Sensitive Plant
The sensitive plant life ( Mimosa pudica ) is recognize in every sphere of the tropic world where it is an invasive dope . This works has the alone ability to close it ’s leaves when it has been touched , hit it look numb and perhaps deterring depredation . The minuscule shrub grows to 3 to 5 feet tall , and about the same width . The leaves are compound and resemble a fern frond . The stems are covered with small thorns . This plant is reported to be toxic , and the U.S. Forest Service claims , " The seed and other flora voice of sensitive plant contain mimonsine , an amino battery-acid that is cognise to cause whisker red ink and depressed growth in mammals . "
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