I can describe a plant, the movement of water, and the operation of a machine. Alternatively, I can describe time, reptition, or the condition of a thing. If you want to really make things complicated, I can be a consecutive idiom, if you can keep up the pace and maintain a continuous flow. You can even find me useful at sea!

my golden oil can be considered a sacrifice in a volcano, cultivated by the gods of olympus. What am I?

I'm armed from head to toe but never fight I thrive on thirst beneath the burning sky I bloom where beauty has no right The desert holds me, dare to try it?

In winter's grip, I hang so sly, A frozen spike against the sky. A drip turned solid, sharp and bright, I gleam in morning's first light.

Before your kind, I ruled the sky. My beak can wound you, sharp, not meek. Millions of years, my line won't die. Bird and reptile, which do you seek?