Thorny issue of Christ’s crown

QUESTION Which plant was used to make Jesus’s crown of thorns? There is no reference in the Bible to a specific plant being made into the crown of thorns, which was used to torture and mock Jesus.

There are two candidates. The Christ’s thorn jujube (Ziziphus

spina-christi) is an evergreen that grows in the Levant and in North Africa.

Its thorns were once made into crowns and sold to pilgrims. however, these thorns are brittle and insubstantial, so they are unlikely to have been used in Biblical times. The closely related Ziziphus

lotus has also been suggested, but the favoured candidate is

Euphorbia milii, known as the crown of thorns.

This is a woody, spiny, climbing succulent shrub with shoots reaching 6ft. Though native to Madagascar, there is evidence it was growing in the Middle east in the time of Christ. The stems are pliable and can be intertwined into a circlet or crown. Poisonous sap, as well as its sharp thorns, protects it from animals.

Angela Wright, Rowde, Wilts. QUESTION Why are Fleetwood Town supporters known as the Cod Army? FurTher to the earlier answer about Fleetwood’s once-thriving fishing industry, there are plans to regenerate the fish processing trade with a purpose-built fish and food park, which would create much-needed jobs.

Fleetwood is also famous for the powerful Fisherman’s Friend throat lozenges. Miss Judith H. Addison,

Accrington, Lancs.