What Plants Have Thorns & Fruit?

Citrus

• Several members of the Citrus family have thorns and bear fruit. The Persian lime (C. aurantifolia) has thorny stems and produces edible green-to-yellow fruit. It blooms with fragrant white blossoms in spring and grows to 20 feet tall with a low canopy. This evergreen prefers full sun and moist soil and is hardy in zones 9 to 10.

  The lemon (C. limon) has thorny branches and produces edible, yellow fruits. It is hardy in zone 10 and grows to 25 feet tall. Lemon trees have lustrous, evergreen foliage and bloom in spring or fall with aromatic white blossoms. They prefer full sun and moist soil.

Hawthorn

• Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) trees have thorns and bear fruit. The Russian hawthorn (C. ambigua) has thorny branches and produces an abundance of wildlife-attracting, red fruits in fall and winter. This 25-foot-tall deciduous tree is hardy in zones 4 to 6 and thrives in full sun and moist to dry soil.

  The Washington hawthorn (C. phaenopyrum) has thorny stems and produces clusters of large, red fruits in fall and winter. This deciduous tree is hardy in zones 4 to 8 and grows well in full sun and moist to dry soil. It reaches heights to 25 feet and has lustrous, lobed foliage that turns red to orange in fall.

Eleagnus

• Some members of the Elaeagnus family bear fruit and have thorny branches. The Russian olive (E. angustifolia) has thorns and produces black and brown fruit from summer through winter. This deciduous shrub is hardy in zones 2 to 7 and grows from 12 to 15 feet tall. It has long, narrow, silver-gray foliage that turns yellow in fall. Russian olives prefer full sun to partial shade and light, loamy soil.

  The autumn olive (E. umbellate) grows long thorns on its branches and produces single-seeded fruits. This deciduous tree grows to 16 feet tall and thrives in full sun to partial shade and well-drained to dry soil. Autumn olive trees are considered invasive species in some regions of the U.S. and are hardy in zones 5 to 8.

  The thorny eleagnus (E. pungens) shrub grows to 15 feet tall and has thorny, arching branches. It produces fruits in spring and blooms with gray-white flowers. This evergreen shrub is hardy in zones 6 to 9, prefers sun to partial shade, and tolerates drought, salt and a range of soils.

Holly

• Several holly (Ilex spp.) trees and shrubs have thorns and produce fruit. The English holly (I. aquifolium) has thorny branches and produces an abundance of red, wildlife-attracting fruits in fall and winter. It grows to 35 feet tall and is hardy in zones 6 to 9. English hollies have glossy, spiny evergreen foliage and prefer full sun to partial shade and moist soil.

  American holly (I. opaca) shrubs and trees produce clusters of red fruits and have thorny stems. Their spiny, evergreen leaves have a lustrous sheen. American holly trees grow to 50 feet tall with a conical shape, while the "Clarendon Spreading" shrub grows to 12 feet tall with a similar spread. They are hardy in zones 6 or 7 to 9 and grow well in full sun to full shade and moist soil.