The Junior site of the British Cacti and Succulent Society BCSS main site

A spiney gallery

Most cacti have spines. In the wild they help to protect the plant from some of the hottest sun and discourage animals from trying to eat them.

There are many different types of spines, and some of them are very beautiful.

There are long ones:

spines example 1 spines example 2

Short ones:

spines example 3 spines example 4

Hooked ones:

spines example 5 spines example 6

Fine ones:

spines example 7 spines example 8

Hairy ones:

spines example 9 spines example 10

And ones which make fascinating patterns.

spines example 11 spines example 12

If you have any cacti yourself have a look at the spines to see how many different types you can see.