A stage of thorns

In the rain, this natal plum looks so red and green. Love the thorn growth. Within the buds, those thin red lines (like fingers thrown open in surprise) will become thorns; they look like stamen now. Upfront, those are red juveniles and below you can see the green ones almost grown out. That red colour will remain at the tips until they fully mature and harden to just grey/brown. The fruit is a beautiful small rounded red.
These thorns are to be respected.