Prickly Cucumber seed head

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The spiny seed pod of the Bitter Cucumber protects the seeds untill they ripen and the pod splits open to release the next generation of creeper

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Size: 5200px × 3467px
Location: Santa Cruz Island Channel Islands National Park California USA.
Photo credit: © Nick Greaves; Agfa Awards Winner / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: angiosperms, annular, apex, bark, body, botanical, buds, california, cambium, carbohydrates, cellulose, chapparal, creeper, cucumber, deciduous, dispersal, dissolve, edible, exposure, flora, fronds, fruit, growth, gymnosperms, hidden, insects, kingdom, leaves, lignin, maximise, minerals, naked, nitrogen, nutrients, ovary, phloem, photosynthesis, plant, point, pollination, prickly, propagation, protection, rings, scrub, seeds, senescence, shoots, spines, transpiration, usa, water, wind, xylem