Woody > Colletia > Colletia hystrix > Colletia hystrix
Colletia hystrix
Crucifixion Thorn, Crucero, Barbed Wire Bush, Espino Negro, Yaqui
Origin: South America: Chile and Argentina.
| Family |
| Rhamnaceae |
| Genus |
| Colletia |
| Species |
| hystrix |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Shrub (evergreen) |
| Synonyms |
| Colletia aciculata, Colletia armata, Colletia armata f. subglabra, Colletia brevispina, Colletia cataphracta, Colletia dumosa, Colletia ferox var. dumosa, Colletia ferox var. veprecula, Colletia hystrix var. brevispina, Colletia hystrix var. hystrix, Coll |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 7b |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 8 |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H5 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| -15 – -10 |
| Height |
| 5 m |
| Spread |
| 4 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| An almost leafless bushy shrub to 5 m tall and 4 m wide. |
| Landscape |
| Banks and slopes, flower borders and beds, wall-side borders, city and courtyard gardens, patio and container plant. |
| Cultivation |
| Grow in moderately fertile, well-drained soil in full sun, sheltered from cold, dry winds. |
| ID Characteristic |
| It is one of a relatively small group of non-leguminous plants that fix nitrogen in the soil. |
| Pests |
| Generally trouble free. |
| Habitat |
| It grows in very arid areas characterised by low rainfall and low fertility. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Grey-green stems, rigid spines to 4 cm long. |
| Leaf Description |
| A large plant is entirely spiny, its leaves entirely absent. |
| Flower Description |
| Tiny, fragrant white flowers open in small clusters on the spines in late summer and early autumn. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Lanhydrock House and Garden, Bodmin, Cornwall, United Kingdom. |
| Propagation |
| By semi-ripe cuttings of short side-shoots in late summer or seed. |
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