How do thorns protect a plant?

Think of a rosebush in a garden, or a blackberry bush beside a path. Have you ever brushed past one and felt a quick, sharp scratch on your hand?

Those hard, pointy bits on the stems are thorns. You can spot them poking out between the leaves. So how do thorns keep a plant safe?

First, a plant needs its leaves. The leaves catch sunlight and help the plant make its own food, so it can grow.

Lots of animals love to munch on leaves. A deer, a goat or a rabbit is a herbivore, which means an animal that eats only plants. When a hungry herbivore walks up, a plant cannot run away or hide.

Here is where thorns help. They stick out all along the stems and branches, hard and sharp, like tiny needles. They stand right where a hungry mouth wants to bite.

Picture a deer stretching its soft nose toward a thorny bush. As it reaches for a leaf, a thorn jabs its lips and tongue. Ouch! What do you think the deer does next?

The deer pulls its head back fast. Eating here hurts too much, so it walks off to find softer plants with no sharp points. The thorny bush keeps its leaves.

The deer remembers that sting, too. Next time this herbivore wanders past the bush, it stays away and chooses a gentler snack. Day after day, the thorns go on guarding the plant.

Our key word today is herbivore. When a hungry herbivore bites, sharp thorns jab its mouth, so it stops eating, remembers the sting and leaves the plant with its leaves.

Next time you spot a thorny bush, you can smile and know its little sharp guards are keeping its leaves safe.