Common Names: aka Chapparo amargosa, Corona de Christi. The name Crucifixion Thorn is actually applied to a number of different plants. In the Sonoran Desert it typically refers to Canotia holacantha, Koeberlinia spinosa and Castela emoryi. We are not differentiating them here. Much like the Century Plant or Prickly Pear descriptions you can post all to this description.
Habitat: Sonoran Desert
Flowers: White to greenish yellow
Description: Shrub-like tree with a small but stocky trunk and thin, spine tipped branches. Bark is light green to light brown and deeply furrowed. Branches are highly resin-ous and rush-like with sharp terminal thorns. Leaves are almost scale-like with spartan foliage.
Fruit: Much of the plant is covered with dark, dried, and persistent, 5-segmented capsules that house dark redish-brown, winged seeds.