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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 30. 2021
Plants of the Southeast
Firethom, “Pyracantha”, Pyracantha koidzumii
Photos/John Nelson
This pyracantha plant is native to Taiwan, and is very popular now in cultivation, along
with several closely related species. It sometimes attains the stature of a small tree, and is
often grown as a hedge.
By John Nelson
University of
South Carolina
What though the rose has
prickles, yet 'tispluck'd...
Shakespeare, Venus and
Adonis, line 592
I had to do a bit of re
search on William Shake
speare. His works are full of
plant references, and thus
fascinating for a botanist. Of
course, he wrote many refer
ences to roses, seemingly one
of his very favorite flowers.
Now, many of his “rose”
mentionings involve those
sharp things on the branches
(what we Southerners like to
call “stickers”), and most of
the time he refers to them as
“thorns”...which is wrong.
He did get it right in the
above quotation, though.
The stickers on a rose
plant are what we botanists
call “prickles”, which are
usually broad-based struc
tures with a sharp point, eas
ily distinguished from the
stem tissue on which they
occur. A prickle is basically a
modification of the skin (or
epidermis) of the stem, and if
you wanted to, you could
probably pop one off the
stem (carefully, and with
gloves on) without breaking
any connecting vascular tis
sue. “Spines” are modified
leaves, and the spines of a
cactus would be a good ex
ample. Lastly, “thorns” are
modified stems, and they,
along with spines, do contain
vascular tissue. (Thoms also
sometimes exhibit leaves,
which further suggests their
modification as stems.)
The point (pun intended!)
of all this is that roses, de
spite their famous stickeri-
ness, do not bear thorns.
The abundant fruit of a pyracantha. Robins, mocking
birds, and cedar-waxwings gobble them up.
They bear prickles. Not
thorns. I know, I know...it
seems a small matter, except
for a botanist.
Our plant pyracantha
often called Firethom pro
duces plenty of long, sharp
thorns. It’s a member of the
rose family, actually, but not
too closely related to roses
themselves.
This plant is native to Tai
wan, and is very popular now
in cultivation, along with
several closely related
species. It sometimes attains
the stature of a small tree, and
is often grown as a hedge.
The leaves are deep green,
sort of strap-shaped, some
times notched at the tip.
The plants are partially ever
green, as they tend to hold on
to a lot of their foliage
throughout the winter, at least
in the South. The flowers are
small and white, with 5
petals. Lots of flowers will be
clustered together at bloom
ing time, throughout the
spring. The flowers are fra
grant: a kind of stinky fra
grance, but not too bad.
Plenty of pollinators will
be attracted to them. Follow
ing the flowers, young green
fruits develop, and anatomi
cally, they resemble tiny little
apples. Of course, as they de
velop, they will take on a
very attractive color, a sort of
red-orange (like the one in
our front yard), but some cul-
tivars will have brilliant scar
let fruits, or even yellow
ones. Robins, mockingbirds,
and cedar-waxwings gobble
them up.
This species, probably be
cause the birds like to spread
the seeds around, can be a bit
of a stickery nuisance, and it
is in fact a bit invasive in var
ious places.
Otherwise, it is a beauti
ful plant in terms of flowers
and fruits, and is a useful
wildlife food. The sharp
thorns are potentially haz
ardous, such that retrieving a
soft ball from such a hedge,
or backing into one while
mowing the grass, can be a
memorable experience.
©JohnNelson2021
[John Nelson is the retired
curator of the A. C. Moore
Herbarium at the University of
South Carolina, in the Depart
ment of Biological Sciences, Co
lumbia SC 29208. As a public
service, the Herbarium offers
free plant identifications. For
more information, visit
www.herbarium.org or email
johnbnelson@se.rr com.]
^angles
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