Acanthus (genus)

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Acanthus (genus)

Acanthus is a genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of about 30 species of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s in the family Acanthaceae

Acanthaceae

The family Acanthaceae is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species.Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes....
, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World

Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans in the 15th century....
, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
. Common names include Acanthus and Bear's breeches.

The genus comprises herbaceous

Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaf and stem that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. A herbaceous plant may be Annual plant, Biennial plant or Perennial plant....
perennial plant

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
s, rarely subshrub

Subshrub

A subshrub is a horticultural rather than strictly botany category of woody perennial plant. It is distinguished from a shrub by its ground-hugging stems and lower height, with overwintering perennial woody growth typically less than 10–20 cm tall, or by being only weakly woody and/or persisting only for a few years....
s, with spiny leaves and flower spikes

Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate growth and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called Pedicel s — along the axis....
bearing white or purplish flowers. Size varies from 40 cm, up to 2 m tall.

ral species, especially A.

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Encyclopedia

Acanthus is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of about 30 species of flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s in the family Acanthaceae
Acanthaceae

The family Acanthaceae is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species.Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes....
, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World
Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans in the 15th century....
, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region and Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
. Common names include Acanthus and Bear's breeches.

The genus comprises herbaceous
Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaf and stem that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. A herbaceous plant may be Annual plant, Biennial plant or Perennial plant....
perennial plant
Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
s, rarely subshrub
Subshrub

A subshrub is a horticultural rather than strictly botany category of woody perennial plant. It is distinguished from a shrub by its ground-hugging stems and lower height, with overwintering perennial woody growth typically less than 10–20 cm tall, or by being only weakly woody and/or persisting only for a few years....
s, with spiny leaves and flower spikes
Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate growth and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called Pedicel s — along the axis....
bearing white or purplish flowers. Size varies from 40 cm, up to 2 m tall.

Selected species

Acanthus balcanicus
Acanthus dioscoridis
Acanthus eminens
Acanthus hirsutus
Acanthus hungaricus
Acanthus ilicifolius
Acanthus mollis
Acanthus mollis

Acanthus mollis, commonly known as Bear's Breeches, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Acanthus , native to the Mediterranean region from Portugal and northwest Africa east to Croatia, and is one of the earliest cultivated species of garden plants....
Acanthus montanus
Acanthus montanus

Acanthus montanus is a thinly branched perennial with basal clusters of oblong to lance-shaped, glossy, dark green leaves reaching up to long....
Acanthus polystachyus
Acanthus spinosus
Acanthus syriacus

Cultivation and uses

Several species, especially A. spinosa and A. mollis
Acanthus mollis

Acanthus mollis, commonly known as Bear's Breeches, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Acanthus , native to the Mediterranean region from Portugal and northwest Africa east to Croatia, and is one of the earliest cultivated species of garden plants....
, are grown as ornamental plant
Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, Plant stem and bark....
s.

The foliage is the basis of a style of architectural ornamentation; see acanthus (ornament)
Acanthus (ornament)

The acanthus is one of the most common ornaments used to depict foliage. Architectural ornaments are carved in stone or wood in the appearance of leaves from the Mediterranean Acanthus plant, with some resemblance to thistle, poppy and parsley leaves....
.