Why do rose bushes have thorns on them? I don’t know of any animal that sees them as a food source, so what are the thorns protecting? I’ve been jabbed so many times that you would think I would have learned my lesson by now, but, no, just today I got a bad puncture that’s still throbbing. Any horticulturists out there?
Maybe the reason that no animal sees them as a food source is because of the thorns.
Deer and bear eat rose hips. The nasty thorns also discourage large apes from running carelessly through rose brambles and damaging the woody stems.
The thorns also help rose plants to climb through bushes and trees (notice that they curve backwards).
Be careful when you get jabbed-- I’ve heard some nasty stories about backyard-bacteria infections that people have picked up from rose thorns. Puncture wounds need to be treated carefully because they don’t bleed much and they’re easily infected.