These Indoor Plants with Prickly Leaves wonderfully show that beauty can often have an edge and should be handled with care!
Possessing a natural defense mechanism, these plants with prickly leaves are versatile choices for pots, windowsills, and even garden borders!
Indoor Plants with Prickly Leaves
1. Prickly Pear Cactus
Botanical Name: Opuntia
Flaunting flat, paddle-like pads adorned with spines, this cactus is comfortable with dry spells and offers edible fruits, commonly featured in Mexican dishes. All it requires is a super draining soil and its good to go!
2. Lace Aloe
Botanical Name: Aloe aristata
Sporting dark green leaves edged with white teeth and dense spots, the Lace Aloe is a petite succulent, perfect for mini pots and tabletops. It boasts certain medicinal properties as well.
3. Venus Fly Trap
Botanical Name: Dionaea muscipula
This carnivorous plant stands out with its hinged, insect-trapping leaves, equipped with fine hairs that trigger their snapping shut. Place it in the sunniest corner of the house to meet its sunlight requirements.
4. Crown of Thorns
Botanical Name: Euphorbia milii
Adorned with densely spined stems and vibrant flowers, this ornamental shrub thrives in sunny spots with minimal water. It isn’t a fan of chilly air, so keep it away from drafty windows.
5. Roses
Botanical Name: Rosa
Rather than the thorny leaves, this shrub grows prickly stems as a protective shield for those fragrant blooms. You can grow these indoors on a south-facing window with some support to climb and thrive!
6. Nettles
Botanical Name: Urtica
Notorious for their stinging hairs on leaves and stems, nettles double as an herbal remedy and a nutritious culinary ingredient. Despite its reputation as an outdoor plant, it can survive indoors well when given enough room to spread.
7. Yellow Tower Cactus
Botanical Name: Echinocereus triglochidiatus
This cactus boasts a cylindrical form with bright yellow flowers and a ribbed surface sprinkled with small spines. Remember, overwatering is the easiest way to kill this plant.
8. Cacti
Botanical Name: Cactaceae family
This succulent family comes in various shapes and sizes and has this fantastic ability to store water in those thorny stems. Interestingly, these thorns are actually transformed leaves, evolved to minimize water loss through transpiration.
9. Porcupine Tomato
Botanical Name: Solanum torvum
With its thorny stems and leaves, this plant produces yellowish flowers and spiky green fruit, with its role in traditional remedies. Provide enough sunlight
10. Honey Cactus
Botanical Name: Myrtillocactus geometrizans
Towering with a columnar structure and blue-green stems, this cactus features small spine clusters and blooms with white flowers in spring.
11. Aloe Vera
Botanical Name: Aloe barbadensis miller
Typical to most aloe varieties, this one, too, contains a healing gel in those elongated leaves edged in spines. It’s a pretty hard-to-kill houseplant that would survive any neglect with ease.
12. Agave
Botanical Name: Agave
While you may confuse it with aloe due to its similar shape, Agave boasts thick, fleshy leaves and is a more popular sight along garden borders or along sunny patios.
