140 



THE DESERT 



The spine 

 and thorn, 



The eruci- 

 Jixion thorn. 



There are chollas that have a sheath covering 

 the thorn — a scabbard to the sword — and when 

 anything pushes against it the sheath is left 

 sticking in the wound. The different forms of 

 the bisnaga are little more than vegetable por- 

 cupines. They bristle with quills or have hook- 

 shaped thorns that catch and hold the intruder. 

 The sahuaro has not so many spines, but they 

 are so arranged that you can hardly strike the 

 cylinder without striking the thorns. 



The cacti are defended better than the other 

 growths because they have more to lose, and are 

 consequently more subject to attack. And yet 

 there is one notable exception. The crucifix- 

 ion thorn is a bush or tree somewhat like the 

 palo verde, except that it has no leaf. It is a 

 thorn and little else. Each small twig runs 

 out and ends in a sharp spike of which the 

 branch is but the supporting shaft. It bears 

 in August a small yellow flower but this grows 

 out of the side of the spike. In fact the whole 

 shrub seems created for no other purpose than 

 the glorification of the thorn as a thorn.* 



* It is said to be very scarce but I hare found it grow- 

 ing along the Castle Creek region of Arizona, also at 

 Kingman, Peach Springs, and further north. A stunted 

 variety grows on the Mojave but it is not frequently seen 

 on the Colorado. 



