Thorn
A thorn was a spiny projection used as a defense mechanism by plants.

While most thorns grew on the body of plants, some plants contained thorns within their flowers, and shot them at passers-by. Plants with thorns of this kind included the pod plants of Gamma Trianguli VI and a plant once kept in Lab 4005 aboard the . (, )

When Captain James T. Kirk brought Miranda Jones to the arboretum of the , she pricked her finger on the thorn of a rose. When Jones left the Enterprise, Kirk presented her with another rose. She asked, "I suppose it has thorns?", and Kirk replied, "I never knew a rose that didn't." ()

In 2269, Hikaru Sulu initially attributed his pain upon touching a Retlaw plant to a thorn, when in reality, it had bitten him. ()

The thorns of the predatory vine on Surata IV contained microbes which infected an individual. ()

See also 
 Spine

External link 
 
Anatomy
Botany