crown of thorns
      n 1: any affliction that causes great suffering; "that is his
           cross to bear"; "he bears his afflictions like a crown
           of thorns" [syn: cross]
      2: somewhat climbing bushy spurge of Madagascar having long
         woody spiny stems with few leaves and flowers with scarlet
         bracts [syn: Christ thorn, Christ plant, {Euphorbia
         milii]
      3: a mock crown made of thorn branches that Roman soldiers
         placed on Jesus before the Crucifixion


 Crown of thorns
    our Lord was crowned with a, in mockery by the Romans (Matt.
    27:29). The object of Pilate's guard in doing this was probably
    to insult, and not specially to inflict pain. There is nothing
    to show that the shrub thus used was, as has been supposed, the
    spina Christi, which could have been easily woven into a wreath.
    It was probably the thorny nabk, which grew abundantly round
    about Jerusalem, and whose flexible, pliant, and round branches
    could easily be platted into the form of a crown. (See THORN
    �T0003642, 3.)