Editing Caper (section)

==Distribution and habitat==
''Capparis spinosa'' ranges around the [[Mediterranean Basin]], [[Arabian Peninsula]], and portions of Western and Central Asia.

In southern Europe, it is found in southern Portugal, southern and eastern Spain (including the Balearic Islands), Mediterranean France including Corsica, Italy including Sicily and Sardinia, Croatia's Dalmatian islands, Albania, Greece and the Greek Islands, western and southern Turkey, on Cyprus, and on the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine. In Spain, it ranges from sea level up to {{convert|1300|m}} in elevation.<ref name = iucn/>

In northern Africa, it is found throughout the north and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, where it occurs from sea level up to {{convert|2000|m|abbr=on}} in elevation. It is also found in northern Algeria (Kabylie, coastal Algeria, Bouzaréa, and Oran) and the [[Hoggar Mountains]] of the Algerian Sahara, in Tunisia north of the Sahara, and [[Cyrenaica]] in Libya.<ref name = iucn/>

In western Asia, it is found along the eastern Mediterranean in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and western Jordan, and in the southern Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is also found south of the Caucasus in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and northeastern Turkey. On the Arabian Peninsula it occurs in Oman, Yemen including [[Socotra]], and Asir province of Saudi Arabia. In central Asia, it inhabits the mountains of central Afghanistan, the lower Karakoram range in northern Pakistan and Ladakh, and Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and eastern Uzbekistan.<ref name = iucn/>

=== Environmental requirements ===
[[File:Capparis spinosa Negev.JPG|thumb|Thorny caper flower in [[Israel]]]]
[[File:Capparis cartilaginea open fruit.jpg|thumb|Open ripe caper fruit]]

The caper bush requires a semiarid or arid climate. The caper bush has developed a series of mechanisms that reduce the impact of high radiation levels, high daily temperature, and insufficient soil water during its growing period.<ref>Rhizopoulou, S. (1990). "Physiological responses of ''Capparis spinosa'' L. to drought." ''Journal of Plant Physiology'' '''136''': 341–348.</ref><ref>Levizou, E; P. Drilias; A. Kyparissis (2004). "Exceptional photosynthetic performance of ''Capparis spinosa'' L. under adverse conditions of Mediterranean summer." ''Photosynthetica.'' '''42''': 229–235</ref>

In response to sudden increases in humidity, the bush forms wart-like pockmarks across the leaf surface. It quickly adjusts to the new conditions and produces unaffected leaves.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}