Crown of Thorns
Many plants with spiny (modified leaves or stipules), thorny (modified stems), or prickly (epidermal extrusions) parts have been proposed as the material from which was constructed the crown of thorns used in the crucifixion of Christ. Of course, the thorns must have come from a plant native to, or grown in the Holy Land, around 32 A.D.
While we will never know for certain, two plants in the Buckthorn Family (Rhamnaceae), both native to the Levant, have long been proposed as candidates: the Crown-of-Thorns (
Paliurus spina-christi) and the Christ's Thorn Jujube (
Ziziphus spina-christi)
.
Crown-of-Thorns (Paliurus spina-christi)
Christ's Thorn Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi)