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Rhigozum trichotomum
Also called Three Thorn, Threethorn, Trithorn
A thorny, woody perennial shrub from southern Africa's dry Karoo and semi-desert, growing 1 to 2 m tall with three-way branching spiny twigs. It is a plant for dry, sunny, low-water gardens and is rarely grown in cultivation.
Rhigozum trichotomum is a shrub that is native from Angola to South Africa. It is found mainly in the Nama Karoo and is listed on the SANBI red list as 'safe' (LC). It is a woody perennial shrub that grows 1–2 m tall with thorny twigs that often branch in threes. It bears small leaves that it loses in the dry season, and produces small white flowers with yellow centers. Overgrazed areas can become covered with this plant. This indicates poor land management, and can maks the soil prone to erosion. The plant is not palatable, but acts as a nurse plant for other young plants. It occurs in areas with rainfall of 50–350 mm per year.
Kalahari Gold · Rhigozum madagascariense · Karoo Gold · Rhigozum somalense · Kaoko Rhigozum · Zambezi Gold · Golds
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rhigozum trichotomum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
