Dictionary:

acanthus

(ə-kăn'thəs) pronunciation

Source

n., pl. -thus·es or -thi (-thī').

Any of various perennial herbs or small shrubs of the genus Acanthus, native to the Mediterranean and having pinnately lobed basal leaves with spiny margins and showy spikes of white or purplish flowers. Also called bear's breech.
Architecture. A design patterned after the leaves of one of these plants, used especially on the capitals of Corinthian columns.

[New Latin Acanthus, genus name, from Greek akanthos, thorn plant, from akantha, thorn.]

acanthine a·can'thine (-thĭn, -thīn) adj.

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: acanthus

Any of the more than 2,500 plant species that make up the family Acanthaceae, of the figwort order. Acanthus are found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. Most are herbaceous plants or shrubs that grow in tropical rainforests; some are climbers (vines) or trees. Acanthus have simple leaves arranged in opposite pairs on the twigs and enlarged cells called cystoliths in streaks or protuberances in the vegetative parts. The bisexual flowers are bilaterally symmetrical and usually crowded together in clusters. Individual flowers are enclosed by leaflike bracts, which are often coloured and large. Acanthus are mainly of horticultural interest and include some ornamentals.

For more information on acanthus, visit Britannica.com.

Architecture: acanthus

A common plant of the Mediterranean, whose leaves, stylized, form the characteristic decoration of capitals of Corinthian and Composite orders. In scroll form it appears on friezes, panels, etc.

acanthus

Columbia Encyclopedia: acanthus

(əkăn'thəs) , common name for a member of the Acanthaceae, a family of chiefly perennial herbs and shrubs, mostly native to the tropics. A few members of the family, many of which have decorative spiny leaves, are cultivated as ornamentals—especially the Mediterranean acanthus, or bear's-breech (genus Acanthus), whose ornate leaves were the source of a stylized motif used in Greek and Roman art (see Corinthian order). In Christian art the acanthus symbolizes heaven. Some species of the genus Ruellia are native to and cultivated as ornamentals in North America, chiefly in the South. Acanthus is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Scrophulariacles.

Wikipedia: Acanthus (genus)

Acanthus

Acanthus montanus

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Acanthaceae
Genus:	Acanthus L.

Species

See text

Acanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region and Asia. Common names include Acanthus and Bear's breeches.

The genus comprises herbaceous perennial plants, rarely subshrubs, with spiny leaves and flower spikes bearing white or purplish flowers. Size varies from 40 cm, up to 2 m tall. An example of one such plant is the Shrimp Plant which can be found in the state of Florida in the United States.

Selected species

Acanthus balcanicus
Acanthus dioscoridis
Acanthus eminens
Acanthus hirsutus
Acanthus hungaricus
Acanthus ilicifolius
Acanthus mollis
Acanthus montanus
Acanthus polystachyus
Acanthus spinosus
Acanthus syriacus

Cultivation and uses

Acanthus mollis flowering in the ruins of the Palatine Hill, Rome, May 2005

Several species, especially A. spinosa and A. mollis, are grown as ornamental plants.

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

References

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Acanthus

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Copyrights:

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Acanthus (genus)". Read more