On Wed, 7 Jan 2004 05:25:23 +0000 (UTC),
(mel turner) wrote:

In article , am=ray
wrote...

Can anyone identify a tree for me? It has 2cm thorns, pictured at:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~ray/thorn.jpg

Forked thorns just like that are characteristic of _Carissa macrocarpa_
"Natal plum", in the family Apocynaceae. Does it have smallish, rounded
leathery leaves, milky white sap, white flowers, and possibly red
edible fruits, such as shown in:

http://iris.plantsdatabase.com/fp.php?pid=430448
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty...r_mac_2246.jpg
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty...r_mac_2252.jpg
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/page5.htm
http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plan...acrocarpa.html
http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph20.htm
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/HE/HE61500.pdf
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/37046/
http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/Sin...h_value=501290
http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/natal_plum.htm

cheers
Thank you, your description is spot on although my tree has never
produced any fruit. I've just had it removed because it had reached
the height of my house and its spikes were quite dangerous.
Thanks also for the links, some interesting material. The reference to
it as a hedge plant makes sense if you need a real deterrent hedge.
The guy who removed ours wore protective clothing and mask.

/ spam=ray
www.iinet.com.au/~ray
"...when the intrepid explorers emerged from the forest,
they found themselves in a place where, for untold eons,
the eye of man had not set foot." The Goon Show