Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Prickles on a blackberry branch. In plant morphology, thorns, spines, and prickles, and in general spinose structures (sometimes called spinose teeth or spinose apical processes), are hard, rigid extensions or modifications of leaves, roots, stems, or buds with sharp, stiff ends, and generally serve the same function: physically defending plants against herbivory.
Viburnum lesquereuxii leaf with insect damage; Dakota Sandstone (Cretaceous) of Ellsworth County, Kansas. Scale bar is 10 mm. Knowledge of herbivory in geological time comes from three sources: fossilized plants, which may preserve evidence of defense (such as spines) or herbivory-related damage; the observation of plant debris in fossilised animal feces; and the structure of herbivore mouthparts.
The structure of a plant cell wall is incredibly important for wound responses, as both protect the plant from pathogenic infections by preventing various molecules from entering the cell. [ 1 ] Plants are capable of activating innate immunity, by responding to wounding events with damage-associated Molecular Patterns (DAMPs). [ 1 ]
Prickles and thorns are an evolved defense against herbivores — animals that eat plants — and can also aid in growth, plant competition and water retention, according to the study.
Distinct signal transduction pathway are activated in response either to insect damage or mechanical damage in plants. [23] While chemicals released in wounding responses are the same in both cases, the pathway in which they accumulate are separate. Not all herbivore attack begins with feeding, but with insects laying eggs on the plant.
Prickles, thorns and spines are all modified plant tissues that have evolved to prevent or limit herbivory, these structures have evolved independently a number of times. [215] Stimulant toxins: plants which are only distantly related to each other, such as coffee and tea, produce caffeine to deter predators. [216]
The hooks or teeth generally cause irritation, and some species commonly cause gross injury to animals, or expensive damage to clothing or to vehicle tires. [citation needed] Burs serve the plants that bear them in two main ways. Firstly, burs are spinescent and tend to repel some herbivores, much as other spines and prickles do. [3]
Plants have also developed sharp structures, such as thorns, spines, and prickles, as defensive mechanisms to deter herbivores. These structures, found in species like cacti and roses , have pointed, sometimes serrated edges to maximize damage while requiring minimal energy to maintain.