Acrocomia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Acrocomia

Scientific
classification
Kingd Planta
om:
e
(unran Angios
ked): perms
(unran Monoc
ked): ots
(unran Comm

ked): elinids
Order: Arecal
es
Family Arecac
:
eae
Subfa Arecoi
mily: deae
Tribe: Cocos
eae
Genus Acroc
:
omia
Mart.
Synonyms[1]

Gastrococ
os Morales

Acanthoco
cos Barb.Ro
dr.

Acrocomia is a genus of palms which is native

to the Neotropics, ranging fromMexico in the
north, through Central America and
the Caribbean, and through South
America south to Argentina.[1][2]
Description[edit]
Acrocomia is a genus of spiny, pinnate-leaved
palms which range from large trees to small
palms with short, subterranean stems.[3]
The species bears
branched inflorescences which are located
among the leaves. The unisexual flowers;
female flowers are born near the base of the
inflorescence, while male flowers are borne
towards the tips. Fruit are large, single-seeded,
and vary in colour from yellow, to orange, to
brown.[3]
Species[edit]
1.
Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. ex
R.Keith - Mexico, Central America, West
Indies, northern South America
2.
Acrocomia crispa (Kunth) C. Baker
ex. Becc. - Cuba

3.
Acrocomia emensis (Toledo) Lorenzi Brazil
4.

Acrocomia glaucescens Lorenzi - Brazil

5.
Acrocomia
hassleri (Barb.Rodr.) W.J.Hahn - Mato
Grosso do Sul, Paraguay
6.

Acrocomia intumescens Drude - Brazil

7.
Acrocomia media O.F.Cook - Puerto
Rico, Virgin Islands
8.
Acrocomia totai Mart. - Bolivia,
Paraguay, northern Argentina, southern
Brazil
References[edit]
Wikimedia
Commons
has media
related
to Acrocom
ia.
1.
^ Jump up to:a b Kew World Checklist of
Selected Plant Families

2.
Jump up^ Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J.
(2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223.
The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew.
3.
^ Jump up to:a b Henderson,
Andrew; Gloria Galeano; Rodrigo
Bernal (1995). Field Guide to the Palms of
the Americas. Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press. pp. 45
50. ISBN 0-691-08537-4.
This Cocoeae article is a stub. You can help
Wikipedia by expanding it.

Thorns, spines, and prickles

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Spine (botany))

This article may require cleanup to meet

Wikipedia's quality standards. Nocleanup reason has
been specified. Please help improve this article if you
can.(February 2011)
In plant morphology, thorns, spines, prickles, and in
general spinose structures (as spinose teeth, spinose apical
process) are all hard structures with sharp, stiff ends, generally
with the same function of physically deterring animals from
eating the plant material.
In common language the terms are used more or less
interchangeably, but in botanical terms, thorns are derived
fromshoots (so they can be branched or not, they can have
leaves or not, and they arise from a bud),[1][2][3][4] spines are
derived from leaves (the entire leaf or some part of the leaf that
has vascular bundles inside, like the petiole or a stipule),[1][2][3]
[4]
and prickles are derived from the epidermis (so they can be
found anywhere on the plant, and don't have vascular bundles
inside so they can be removed more easily and cleanly than
thorns and spines[4]).[1][2][3]
Leaf margins also may have teeth, and if those teeth are sharp,
they are called spinose teeth on a spinose leaf margin[1][2](some
authors consider them a kind of spine[2]). On a leaf apex, if there
is an apical process (generally an extension of the midvein), and
if it is specially sharp, stiff, and spinelike, it can be called
spinose or pungent apical process[1] (again, some authors call

them a kind of spine[2]). When epidermis is covered with very

long, stiff trichomes (more correctly called bristlesin this case,
[1]
for some authors a kind of prickle[2]) is called hispid vestiture,
[1][2][3]
if is covered with stinging trichomes it can be called urent
vestiture.[1]
Contents

[hide]

1 Function

2 Definitions and technical distinctions

o

2.1 Types of spines

3 Evolution

4 Morphological variation

5 In human culture

6 See also

7 References

8 External links
Function[edit]

The predominant function of thorns, spines and prickles is

deterring herbivory in a mechanical form.

Not all functions of spines or glochids are limited to defence

from physical attacks by herbivores and other animals. In some
cases, spines have been shown to shade or insulate the plants
that grow them: for example, the saguaro cactus spines shade the
apical meristem in summer and in members of
the Opuntioideae glochids insulating the apical meristem in
winter.
Agrawal et al. (2000) found that spines seem to have little effect
on pollinators, which the plants need in order to reproduce.[5]
Definitions and technical distinctions[edit]

Pointing or spinose processes can broadly be divided by the

presence of vascular tissue: thorns and spines are derived from
shoots and leaves respectively, and have vascular bundles inside,
whereas prickles (like rose prickles) don't have vascular bundles
inside, so they can be removed more easily.

(A) Thorn or spine

(B) Prickle

A spinose tooth in a leaf margin.

A spinose apical process.

Thorns are modified branches or stems. They may be

simple or branched.

Thorns are derived from shoots, they can be branched and they
can have leaves. They arise from a bud.

Smooth, featurelessCitrus thorn.

Gymnosporia buxifoliathorn, its leaves, nodes, and emergence

from an axillary bud demonstrating its nature as a branch.

Carissa bispinosashowing characteristic branched thorns.

Spines are modified leaves, stipules, or parts of leaves,

such as extensions of leaf veins.

The spines of Fouquieria splendens (Ocotillo) develop from the

leafpetioles.

Stipule spines on Acacia xanthophloea.

Cacti areoles. Shoot (yellow), spines (green) and bristles

(brown).

Areoles and spines of the tree like Pereskia grandifolia.

Prickles are comparable to hairs but can be quite coarse

(for example, rose prickles), i.e. they are extensions of
thecortex and epidermis.[6][7]

Raised prickles on the stem of Caesalpinia decapetala.

Rose prickles.

Prickles on the leaves ofSolanum viarum.

Spinescent is a term describing plants that bear any sharp
structures that deters herbivory. It also can refer to the state of
tending to be or become spiny in some sense or degree, as in:

"...the division of the African acacias on the basis of spinescent

stipules versus non-spinescent stipules..."[8]
Some authors prefer not to distinguish spines from thorns
because, like thorns, and unlike prickles, they commonly
containvascular tissue.[9]
Technically speaking, many plants commonly thought of as
having thorns or spines actually have prickles. Roses, for
instance, have prickles.[9]
Other structures that look alike are spinose teeth, spinose apical
process, stiff trichomes and stinging trichomes.

Spinose leaf margin inIlex aquifolium.

Spinose apical process in Sansevieria.

Stiff sharped trichomes inGalium aparine.

Stinging trichome inUrtica dioica.

Types of spines[edit]
Cacti can have a particular kind of spine (modified leaf) very
small and deciduous, with numerous retrorse barbs along its
length, this particular spine is
called glochidium or glochid (plural glochidia or glochids), as
found in areoles of Opuntia.[1]Spines can be petiolar spines as
those of Foquieria, leaflet spines as in Phoenix, stipular
spines as in Euphorbia, all those are examples of spines
developing from a part of a leaf containing the petiole, midrib,
or a secondary vein.[1]
Evolution[edit]

It has been proposed that thorny structures may first have

evolved as a defense mechanism in plants growing in sandy

environments that provided inadequate resources for fast

regeneration of damage.[10][11] However, the suggestion was
unsupported by any argument to discount the likelihood that
spiny defences might have been developed as a means of
defence in resource-rich environments where herbivory might
have been more intense than in the hypothesized sandy
environments.[citation needed]
Morphological variation[edit]

Spinose structures occur in a wide variety of ecologies, and their

morphology also varies greatly. They occur as:

sharpened branches (e.g. in Carissa, Citrus, Crataegus),

spiky inflorescences (e.g. in Tylecodon reticulatus),[12]

a tiny point at the tip of the leaf (mucronate leaves) (e.g.

in Sansevieria),[13]

leaves fully converted to spines (e.g. in Opuntia),[14]

stipules converted to spines (e.g. in many Acacia),

prickles on stems (e.g. of Rosa, Erythrina and Ceiba

speciosa),

urticating (i.e. stinging) hairs,

bristles, and

finely barbed spines called glochids.

Some thorns are hollow and act as myrmecodomatia, others (e.g.

in Crataegus monogyna) bear leaves. Thorns of some species
are branched (e.g. in Crataegus crus-galli, Carissa
macrocarpa).
In human culture[edit]

Primitive humans are known to have used thorns as tools.

Human history records a variety of cultural references to sharppointed plant defensive mechanisms.
The Book of Genesis recounts the creation of thorns as one of
the punishments for the sin of Adam and Eve, stating, "Thorns
also and thistles shall [the ground] bring forth to thee; and thou
shalt eat the herb of the field." Genesis, 3:18. One of the most
enduring cultural images is the Crown of Thorns described in
the Bible as having been placed on the head ofJesus before his
crucifixion. It is mentioned in
the Gospels of Matthew (27:29), Mark (15:17), and John (19:2,
5) and is often alluded to by the early Christian Fathers, such
as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and others. For
example, John the Evangelist states that "the soldiers plaited a
crown of thorns, and put it on his head". (KJV, ch. 19). The
biblical account does not specify what kind of thorns were
involved, and leaves no clues from which to determine whether
these were biologically classifiable as thorns, spines, or prickles.

An early popular myth involving a thorn is that of Androcles, a

fugitive slave in ancient Greece who was said to have befriended
a lion by pulling a thorn from the lion's paw.[15]
The status of the Scottish Thistle as the national emblem of
Scotland is founded on the story (recounted here) that an
invading Norse army attempting a night attack was betrayed
when they encountered a thistle in the dark.
Plants bearing thorns, spines, or prickles are often used as a
defense against burglary, being strategically planted below
windows or around the entire perimeter of a property.[16] They
also have been used to protect crops and livestock against
marauding animals. Examples include hawthorn hedges in
Europe, Agaves in the Americas and in other countries where
they have been introduced, Osage Orange in the prairie states of
the US, and Sansevieria in Africa.[17]
In modern times, the study of acanthochronology has used
the oxygen isotope composition of spines from saguaro cactus to
determine historical changes in local rainfall and
reconstruct climate and plant ecophysiology over the plant's
lifetime.
See also[edit]

Areole

Glochid

References[edit]

General references:

Simpson, M. G. 2010. "Plant Morphology". In: Plant

Systematics, 2nd. edition. Elsevier Academic Press. Chapter
9.

Judd, Campbell, Kellogg, Stevens, Donoghue. 2007.

"Structural and Biochemical Characters". In: Plant
Systematics, a phylogenetic approach, third edition. Chapter
4.
1.

^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, M. G. 2010.

"Plant Morphology". In: Plant Systematics, 2nd. edition.
Elsevier Academic Press. Chapter 9.

2.

^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h Judd, Campbell, Kellogg,

Stevens, Donoghue. 2007. "Structural and Biochemical
Characters". In: Plant Systematics, a phylogenetic
approach, third edition. Chapter 4.

3.

^ Jump up to:a b c d Turner et al. 2005, Sonoran Desert

Plants, an Ecological Atlas. University of Arizona Press.

4.

^ Jump up to:a b c Van Wyk, Van Wyk. 2007. How to

identify trees in South Africa. Struik.

5.

Jump up^ Agrawal, A, A., Rudgers, A, J., Botsford,

W, L., Cutler, S., Gorin, B, J., Lundquist, C, J., Spitzer, W,
B., & Swann, L, A. (2000). Benefits and Constraints on
Plant Defense against Herbivores: Spines Influence the
Legitimate and Illegitimate Flower Visitors of Yellow Star

Thistle,Centaurea solstitialis L. (Asteraceae). JSTOR,

45(1), 1-5.http://www.jstor.org/stable/3672545. retrieved
2012-03-20
6.

Jump up^ Van Wyk, Braam (2007). How to Identify

Trees in Southern Africa (illustrated ed.). Struik.
p. 184.ISBN 9781770072404.

7.

Jump up^ Sengbusch, Peter (2003-07-31). "CrossSection Through the Prickle of a Rose". Retrieved 200904-27.

8.

Jump up^ Ross, J. H. "A conspectus of the African

Acacia species." Series: Memoirs of the Botanical Survey
of South Africa, No. 44 Botanical Research Institute, Dept.
of Agricultural Technical Services, Pretoria, 1979

9.

^ Jump up to:a b Bell, A.D. 1997. Plant form: an

illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology. Oxford
University Press, Oxford, U.K. preview in google books

10.
Jump up^ Steve Brill, Evelyn Dean, Identifying and
Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants (1994), p. 17.
11.
Jump up^ August Weismann, John Arthur Thomson,
Margaret R. Thomson, The Evolution Theory (1904), p.
124.
12.

Jump up^ Bihrmann.com

13.
Jump up^ Dyer, R. Allen, The Genera of Southern
African Flowering Plants, Vol 2. ISBN 0-621-02863-0,
1976

14.
Jump up^ Anderson, Edward F., The Cactus Family,
Pub: Timber Press 2001 ISBN 978-0-88192-498-5
15.
Jump up^ Carrington, Norman T., Shaw, George
Bernard. Androcles and the Lion: Brodies Notes. Publisher:
Macmillan, 1976,ISBN 978-0-330-50050-0
16.
Jump up^ Marcus Felson, Crime and Nature (2006),
p. 288.
17.
Jump up^ Hunter, J. A., "Hunter" Publisher:
Buccaneer Books, 1993, ISBN 978-1-56849-109-7