Old Thorns

I've come to think of Asparagus as the answer to my question of what would happen if an Asphodelus had perennial stems. Mark my words, these critters are only biding their time until we have a forest of them regrow in a few months after catastrophes.
It's also of note that these stems last long enough dead to collect lichens.

The lichen Xanthoria parietina on a dead stem of Asparagus albus.
Taken 2009/02/15 with my Canon PowerShot SX110 IS. Processed in Photoshop 7. Resized in Paintshop Pro 9.