Acanthus mollis

Capital of a Corinthian pilaster in Paris

Acanthus mollis, commonly known as bear's breeches, sea dock, bear's foot plant, sea holly, gator plant or oyster plant, is a species of plant in the family Acanthaceae and is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a leafy, clump-forming perennial herb, with a rosette of relatively large, lobed or toothed leaves, and purplish and white flowers on an erect spike.

Description

Acanthus mollis is a leafy, clump-forming perennial herb with tuberous roots. It has a basal rosette of dark glossy green, lobed or divided, glabrous leaves Template:Cvt long and Template:Cvt wide on a petiole Template:Cvt long. The flowers are borne on an erect spike up to Template:Cvt tall emerging from the leaf rosette. The sepals are purplish and function as the upper and lower lips of the petals, the upper lip about Template:Cvt long and the lower lip Template:Cvt long. The petals are about Template:Cvt long and form a tube with a ring of hairs where the stamens are attached. Flowering occurs in summer and the fruit is a sharply-pointed capsule about Template:Cvt long containing one or two brown seeds about Template:Cvt long and Template:Cvt wide.

Taxonomy and naming

Acanthus mollis was first formally described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in his book Species Plantarum. The name of the genus derives from the Greek name of the plant Template:Lang ákanthos; it was imitated in Corinthian capitals. This Template:Lang ákanthos is related to Template:Lang ákantha meaning "thorn" referring to the thorn-bearing sepals, or any thorny or prickly plant in Greek. The Latin name of the species, mollis meaning "soft, smooth", refers to the texture of the leaves.

Distribution and ecology

Although native to the eastern and central Mediterranean, Acanthus mollis has spread throughout much of western Europe and certain parts of the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, where it is regarded as invasive.

Acanthus mollis is entomophilous, pollinated only by bees or bumble bees large enough to force their way between the upper sepal and the lower, so that they can reach the nectar at the bottom of the tube.

Use in horticulture

These plants are usually propagated from tubers and tend to form large, localized clumps which can survive for several decades and look statuesque when well-grown, but its suitability as a garden plant is lessened on account of its invasive nature (new plants are produced readily both from seed and portions of root) and its susceptibility to attacks from slugs and snails.

Cultural depiction

The shape of the leaf of this plant inspired the ancient Greek sculptor Callimachus (5th c. BCE) to model the capital of the Corinthian column. Since then, the Corinthian order column has been used extensively in Greco-Roman and Classical architecture. For centuries, stone or bronze stylized versions of acanthus leaves have appeared as acanthus decorations on certain styles of architecture and furniture. Virgil described Helen of Troy as wearing a dress embroidered with Acanthus leaves.

Gallery

• Habit
  Habit
• Close-up of stamens
  Close-up of stamens
• Lateral view
  Lateral view
• Fruit
  Fruit
• Flowering plant in the ruins of the Palatine Hill, Rome
  Flowering plant in the ruins of the Palatine Hill, Rome
• Inflorescence
  Inflorescence
• Leaf
  Leaf
• 
  Fruit and seeds
• 
  inflorescence
• 
  Dismembered flower

External links

• The Introduced Flora of Australia and its Weed Status, by R.P.Randall, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia [1]
• Biolib
• Acanthus mollis in the Canary Islands
• Malta Wild Plants