Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Don't climb me...



 ...or don't try to eat me either.  This is the trunk (and leaves below) of the honey locust try. Nasty, nasty thorns it has. I looked up the honey locust and it is a descendent of an ancient tree.  Here is what Wiki says:   "These thorns are thought to have evolved to protect the trees from browsing Pleistocene megafauna, which may also have been involved in seed dispersal, but the size and spacing of them is less useful in defending against smaller extant herbivores such as deer. "

So I imagine there are now hungry deer nibbling on the bark, since the megafauna is gone.  I thought the thorns might be pretty sprayed white or gold for Christmas decorations, but they are difficult to dislodge.  I tried...ow.

3 comments:

s.c said...

Never seen one but it looks very effective.

Hull and Hereabouts said...

New to me but it does looks painful.

William Kendall said...

Ouch comes to mind.

YANKEE IN NICE

 Edit: pastis is a licorice-flavored alcoholic drinksimilar to Greek ouzo. My favorite drink as it is for many people in this area. No more ...