Dyckia 'Cherry Coke'

Cherry Coke dyckia

Dyckias are one of the most cold hardy of all bromeliads, able to take temperatures down to about 20°F. They are also very drought tolerant in their preferred high-sunlight environments, requiring only a little water here and there to thrive.

Although I could find no ways in which dyckias are used by humans besides for aesthetics, I imagine their spiny rigid leaves would make them effective tools of last resort for self-defense.