Prickles! Why?

Perhaps there are reasons other than the (literally) bloody obvious (she says, looking at her arms) but clearly they are barriers against intruders, intelligently designed or not.



This plant, Acacia paradoxa, grows throughout the scrub around the creek.

In places it is continuous and absolutely impassable, while in others it is an occasional plant among many.

Not only are the thorns sharp, but the plant itself grows thickly with stems that intertwine. The many old dead plants are even more impenetrable, simply because the now brittle pieces that touch clothes and even bare skin, catch instantly and break off.

It is gorgeous in flower, however, and must be a wonderful shelter for tiny things.


http://www.anbg.gov.au/acacia/species/A-paradoxa.html