7981.000 Acanthus L.

Description of the genus

Trees, shrubs or subshrubs. Leaves lobed to pinnatifid, with margin spiny. Inflorescences of dense terminal spikes. Calyx divided to base, 4-lobed. Corolla 1-lipped, the lip 3-5-lobed; corolla with the adaxial suture slit. Stamens exserted beyond corolla tube, 4, all 1-thecous. Ovary 2-locular. Capsule woody, shiny, brown. Seeds glabrous, borne on retinacula.

Worldwide: 30 species in tropical and warm regions of the Old World; 1 naturalised escape in Zimbabwe

Zambia: 1 cultivated taxon.

No image of a cultivated species but there is an image of a native or naturalised species

Links to cultivated taxa    View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
polystachyus DelileDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Acanthus:

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Acanthus
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Acanthus
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Acanthus
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Acanthus
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Acanthus
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Acanthus
JSTOR Plant Science: Acanthus
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Acanthus
Plants of the World Online: Acanthus
Tropicos: Acanthus
Wikipedia: Acanthus

Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Nicholas Wightman, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-25

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wightman, N., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2025). Flora of Zambia: Cultivated plants: genus page: Acanthus.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/cult/genus.php?genus_id=1598, retrieved 10 July 2025

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