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

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

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

Surely you jest. Can anyone identify a tree only from the thorns? What does the
rest of the tree look like? I assume, since you are in Astralia, it is a
species of Acacia.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

"Iris Cohen" wrote in message
...
Surely you jest. Can anyone identify a tree only from the thorns? What
does the
rest of the tree look like? I assume, since you are in Astralia, it is a
species of Acacia.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)


I doubt that jocularity was the intent, but it does seem a daunting
challenge. Here in the Southland of the United States, we encounter a tree
that is referred to in the local vernacular as a "Thorny Locust". Wotever
its real name is unknown to me.

The *Thorny Locust* is a bane in more ways than one:

It provides scant shade; and alive and standing, it will strip you of your
hat, your shirt and the epidermis beneath if you even get close. The pricks
are not barbed, but each puncture and/or scratch results in a surly and sore
redness.

Cut down and stacked for pickup, the remaining feeder roots will spring
forth with a million tiny replicas of the tree proper. A landowner must
remain vigilant lest he find himself the attendant of more of the same than
he would care to claim.

Perhaps they, like University professors, were put here on earth as a test
of our mettle.

--Geno

In article , Gene Royer
writes

I doubt that jocularity was the intent, but it does seem a daunting
challenge. Here in the Southland of the United States, we encounter a tree
that is referred to in the local vernacular as a "Thorny Locust". Wotever
its real name is unknown to me.

May be the Honey-Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos. (But I don't know
whether any of the other species of this genus occur in North America.)
There is a spineless cultivar, G. t. 'Inermis'.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

In article , Gene Royer
writes

I doubt that jocularity was the intent, but it does seem a daunting
challenge. Here in the Southland of the United States, we encounter a tree
that is referred to in the local vernacular as a "Thorny Locust". Wotever
its real name is unknown to me.

May be the Honey-Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos. (But I don't know
whether any of the other species of this genus occur in North America.)
There is a spineless cultivar, G. t. 'Inermis'.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

In article , Gene Royer
writes

I doubt that jocularity was the intent, but it does seem a daunting
challenge. Here in the Southland of the United States, we encounter a tree
that is referred to in the local vernacular as a "Thorny Locust". Wotever
its real name is unknown to me.

May be the Honey-Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos. (But I don't know
whether any of the other species of this genus occur in North America.)
There is a spineless cultivar, G. t. 'Inermis'.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Gene Royer writes
I doubt that jocularity was the intent, but it does seem a daunting
challenge. Here in the Southland of the United States, we encounter a
tree that is referred to in the local vernacular as a "Thorny Locust".
Wotever its real name is unknown to me.

Stewart Robert Hinsley schreef
May be the Honey-Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos. (But I don't know
whether any of the other species of this genus occur in North America.)
There is a spineless cultivar, G. t. 'Inermis'.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

+ + +
A quick browse suggests that location may be important,
perhaps it is Gleditsia in the Southeast, but
http://medplant.nmsu.edu/robinia_neomexicana.htm
in the Southwest?

Vernacular names are worse than useless
PvR

"P van Rijckevorsel" wrote in message
...
Gene Royer writes
I doubt that jocularity was the intent, but it does seem a daunting
challenge. Here in the Southland of the United States, we encounter a
tree that is referred to in the local vernacular as a "Thorny Locust".
Wotever its real name is unknown to me.

Stewart Robert Hinsley schreef
May be the Honey-Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos. (But I don't know
whether any of the other species of this genus occur in North America.)
There is a spineless cultivar, G. t. 'Inermis'.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

+ + +
A quick browse suggests that location may be important,
perhaps it is Gleditsia in the Southeast, but
http://medplant.nmsu.edu/robinia_neomexicana.htm
in the Southwest?

Vernacular names are worse than useless
PvR



You're silly. Of course vernacular names are useful. What a silly thing to
say in a public forum. Do you ever stop to think before you hit the send
key? You're as silly as an Anseranas semipalmata.

--Geneglad I could clear that up for youRoyer

In article , Gene Royer
writes

You're silly. Of course vernacular names are useful. What a silly thing to
say in a public forum. Do you ever stop to think before you hit the send
key? You're as silly as an Anseranas semipalmata.

Can I offer you 100 Rose of Sharons at $2.00 apiece? [1] (In the UK Rose
of Sharon is Hypericum calycinum, which is a ground cover plant, and it
shouldn't be difficult for me to dig up that sort of number of shoots.
In the US it is Hibiscus syriacus.)

[1] Not a serious offer; I would have to add P&P to make a profit.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Gene Royer writes
I doubt that jocularity was the intent, but it does seem a daunting
challenge. Here in the Southland of the United States, we encounter a
tree that is referred to in the local vernacular as a "Thorny Locust".
Wotever its real name is unknown to me.

Stewart Robert Hinsley schreef
May be the Honey-Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos. (But I don't know
whether any of the other species of this genus occur in North America.)
There is a spineless cultivar, G. t. 'Inermis'.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

+ + +
A quick browse suggests that location may be important,
perhaps it is Gleditsia in the Southeast, but
http://medplant.nmsu.edu/robinia_neomexicana.htm
in the Southwest?

Vernacular names are worse than useless
PvR

"P van Rijckevorsel" wrote in message
...
Gene Royer writes
I doubt that jocularity was the intent, but it does seem a daunting
challenge. Here in the Southland of the United States, we encounter a
tree that is referred to in the local vernacular as a "Thorny Locust".
Wotever its real name is unknown to me.

Stewart Robert Hinsley schreef
May be the Honey-Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos. (But I don't know
whether any of the other species of this genus occur in North America.)
There is a spineless cultivar, G. t. 'Inermis'.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

+ + +
A quick browse suggests that location may be important,
perhaps it is Gleditsia in the Southeast, but
http://medplant.nmsu.edu/robinia_neomexicana.htm
in the Southwest?

Vernacular names are worse than useless
PvR



You're silly. Of course vernacular names are useful. What a silly thing to
say in a public forum. Do you ever stop to think before you hit the send
key? You're as silly as an Anseranas semipalmata.

--Geneglad I could clear that up for youRoyer

In article , Gene Royer
writes

You're silly. Of course vernacular names are useful. What a silly thing to
say in a public forum. Do you ever stop to think before you hit the send
key? You're as silly as an Anseranas semipalmata.

Can I offer you 100 Rose of Sharons at $2.00 apiece? [1] (In the UK Rose
of Sharon is Hypericum calycinum, which is a ground cover plant, and it
shouldn't be difficult for me to dig up that sort of number of shoots.
In the US it is Hibiscus syriacus.)

[1] Not a serious offer; I would have to add P&P to make a profit.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Gene Royer schreef
What a silly thing to say in a public forum.
Do you ever stop to think before you hit the send key?
You're as silly as an Anseranas semipalmata.

+ + +
Actually it does not require thinking to repeat an established truth.
Vernacular names are only useful in a limited social context.
If social context is not specified it is a guessing game what the vernacular
name applies to. IIRC it is not that hard to find vernacular names that
refer to as many as a hundred species. Vernacular names often are worse than
useless because people assume that they adequately name a plant when they
give a vernacular name. Old stuff, especially in a public forum.
PvR