In other cases the spines are found on the leaves themselves, but there is great diversity in their mode of arrangement. In many tropical plants, such as the Yucca and the Aloe, the point of the long, reed-shaped leaf is transformed into a spine, and this is the case in many of our native grasses. Kerner von Marilaun notes that, in the Southern Alps, two such grasses, _Festuca alpestris_ and _Nardus stricta_, occur frequently in certain localities, and they prick the muzzles of the cattle so badly that they return bleeding from the pasture. This prevents these Alpine runs from being made full use of, so the grasses are as far as possible extirpated by man, and, curiously enough, also by the cattle themselves, for they seize the grass at the base of the tuft with their teeth, pull it out, and let it fall, so that it withers. Kerner saw thousands of such pieces of turf which had been pulled up by the cattle lying dried and bleached by the sun on some of the Alpine grazing grounds in the Tyrolese Stubaithal. Again, in many plants the whole leaf-edge is transformed into a spiny wall, which may be enlarged by indentations and lobate projections, as in the holly, and, in a much higher degree, in the thistles (_Carduus_), in _Eryngium_, in _Acanthus_, and in many Solanaceæ. Often, too, there are barbed hooks on the leaf-edge, which work like a saw; or the leaf-edge, though without spines, may be made sharp by deposits of silicic acid, as in the sedges, whose sharp edges are moved to and fro in the mouths of ruminants, and thus injure the mucous membrane. The hook-bristles of the fig-cactus (_Opuntia_), which, though small, are abundantly provided with barbs, must also be mentioned; for they are to be found in great numbers surrounding the buds of these plants, and most effectively protect them from being eaten away by animals (Fig. 19). To this category, too, belong the short, prickly bristles of the rough-leaved plants, which cover the whole plant as with an overcoat of sharp needles; of these we may mention the adder's tongue (_Echium vulgare_), the comfrey (_Symphytum officinale_), and the borage (_Borago officinalis_).