Crucifixion Thorn

Castela emoryi

Photographed sw of Arlington, Arizona, Maricopa Co., Arizona. 17 February 2008. This image is also hosted at the Wikimedia Project.

Cluster of woody fruits - these lighter brown capsules appear to be maybe a year or two old. They can remain on the plant for many years becoming darker and darker. Photographed sw of Arlington, Arizona, Maricopa Co., Arizona. 17 February 2008.

SHRUB or TREE : Grows with one to several main stems to a height of up to 5 Meters.

ARMED. Heavily armed! All twig ends are drawn out into straight, stiff, very sharp thorns.

LEAVES: Leaves are reduced to inconspicuous scales. The stems and twigs are green, photosynthetic.

RANGE: Southwestern Arizona and southeastern California at lower elevations that are largely free of killing frosts. Also in Sonora, Mexico. Mostly grows in deep, silty soils where it taps into ground water.

FRUIT: Dry, woody capsules in clusters remain on the plant for many years, turning darker brown with each passing year. Seeds remain enclosed within to be released up to several years after production, when rain and other conditions are more favorable.

FLOWERS: Greenish-white, usually inconspicuous flowers less than a centimeter in diameter.

Simaroubaceae -- Simarouba Family

More Information:

• Southwest Environmental Information Network
• USDA Plant Profile
• Wikipedia
• Google Images
• Google Scholar Literature Search