Range:
Grows in the Chihuahuan Desert south of El Paso, Texas and into Mexico.
Habitat: Dry, rocky desert, 500 to 4,000 feet.
Flowers:
Reddish-brown, 5-petaled flowers less than 1/2 inch wide bloom in the spring and early summer.
Fruit:
Clusters of reddish-brown seeds about 1/2 inch long hang down in groups of 5.Seeds may persist for several years.
Description:
This intricately branched, spiny shrub or small tree has no leaves--just thick, rigid, sharp branches, which perform photosynthesis.The Crucifixion Thorn is bluish gray-green in color and can grow up to 10 feet tall. Young branches are covered with very short, fine hairs; older branches are streaked with gray-brown bark. The very sharp thorns at the ends of branches are either lighter or darker than the stems.
