Canotia holacantha Torr

by Matthew Fry, Native Plants of Arizona 2004
Common names: Crucifixion Thorn, Chaparro Amargosa; Castela emori (gray);
castela, corona-de-Cristo, rosario
Family: Celastraceae
Synonymy:
Etymology: Canotia is the Mexican name, holacantha is from Greek words meaning "wholly" and "thorn," referring to the spiny, leafless branches (5).

Identification
Growth form: Spiny shrub, or small tree to 18'
Roots:
Stem: yellow-green, smooth; becoming gray, rough, slightly fissured and shreddy at base (5).
Leaves: very small, scalelike, greenish, very short-lived (5).
Inflorescence/flowers: White; stamins about as long as the petals, capsule elliptic, dark brown, the body 9 to 12 mm long, the beaks 5 to 10 mm long (6).
Fruit: 3/4" (19 mm) or more in length; egg-shaped, long-pointed capsules, upright, reddish-brown, hard; 5-celled and splitting open along 10 lines; maturing in autumn, remaining attached until spring (5).
Similar species:

Ecology
Life history: Woody perennial
Native/introduced: Native to the Arizona and Mexico (6).
Photosynthetic pathway:
Phenology: Twigs spine tipped and form
masses; very flexable when young, becoming ridgid with age. Twigs and branches take the place of leaves in food manufacture. Fruit capsule persistsuntill the following spring (7).
Distribution: Arizona and extreme S. Utah ; local in N. Mexico ; at 2000-5000' (610-1524 m) Dry, rocky slopes and hillsides in desert and chaparral (5).

Uses

References

1. Pavek, Diane S. 1994. Quercus grisea. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [2004, December 8].

2. USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5. ( http://plants.usda.gov ). National Plant Data Center , Baton Rouge , Louisiana 70874-4490 USA .

3. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) ( http://www.itis.usda.gov ).

4. University of Michigain-Dearborn ( http://herb.umd.umich.edu/ )

5. enature.com ( http://www.enature.com )

6. McDougall, W.B. 1973. Seed Plants of Northern Arizona .

7. Epple, A. O. 1995. A Field Guide to the Plants of Arizona . Falcon Publishing. Helena, Mountana.