Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Mediterranean shrubland
Range: Mediterranean Basin
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Uncommon

About

The caper bush is a spiny Mediterranean shrub best known for its edible flower buds — the pickled "capers" prized in cooking for over 3,000 years. Its large white flowers, each lasting only a single day, bloom from buds that would otherwise become capers if left unpicked.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Brassicales
Family: Capparaceae
Genus: Capparis
Species: Capparis spinosa