a form of small, detachable, irritantspineoccurring in denseclusters in the areoles of certain cacti such as prickly pear. Typically glochids are short, straight, and microscopically barbed. When stuck into the skin of anyone touching the plant, they detach and remain in the skin when the victim moves away.
Examples
I like it that these folks know what a glochid is and, more importantly, how to remove one.
This is a highly magnified photograph of a glochid taken with a scanning electron microscope.
