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{{Taxobox
{{SPlantbox
| color = lightgreen
|familia=Acanthaceae
| name = ''Acanthus''
|genus=Acanthus
| image = Acanthus montanus3.jpg
|common_name=Bear's breeches
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
| image_caption = ''[[Acanthus montanus]]''
|lifespan=perennial
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
|life_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
|Temp Metric=°F
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
|jumpin=If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!
| ordo = [[Lamiales]]
|image=AcanthusmollisPalatineHill.jpg
| familia = [[Acanthaceae]]
|image_width=240
|image_caption=Acanthus mollis
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision = See text
}}
}}
'''''Acanthus''''' is a [[genus]] of about 30 species of [[flowering plant]]s in the family [[Acanthaceae]], native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the [[Roman World]], with the highest species diversity in the [[Mediterranean Basin]] and [[Asia]]. Common names include '''Acanthus''' and '''Bear's breeches'''. The generic name is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word ακανθος (''acanthos''), meaning "thorny."<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=esMPU5DHEGgC& |first=Umberto |last=Quattrocchi |title=CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: A-C |year=2000 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9780849326752 |page=23}}</ref>
The genus comprises [[Herbaceous plant|herbaceous]] [[perennial plant]]s, rarely [[subshrub]]s, with spiny leaves and flower [[raceme|spikes]] bearing white or purplish flowers. Size varies from {{convert|0.4|to|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height.
{{Inc|
Acanthus (akanthos, thorn). Acanthaceae. Bear's Breech. A genus of twenty species of temperate Old World, mostly hardy herbaceous perennials of vigorous growth and broad pinnatifid foliage, suitable for backgrounds of borders and subtropical effects.
;Selected species
Height 3-4 ft.: spikes 1-1 1/2 ft. long; fls. dull white to rose or purplish, sessile, spicate, densely clustered; corolla 1-lipped, the lip 3-lobed; anthers 1-celled, ciliate. Mostly S. Eu.
They need a rich, light, well-drained soil and much sunshine. Excessive moisture is fatal, especially in winter and spring. Fall-planted stock should always be protected for the winter by long litter or evergreen boughs, even where established plants are hardy. Must be deeply mulched north in winter. Propagation is by division in spring or early autumn, and by seeds.
It is supposed that acanthus leaves afforded the suggestion for the foliage decoration on the capital of the Corinthian and other columns. Fig. 85 shows the conventionalized decoration, and Fig. 86 the form of leaf of A. spinosus. The leaves of A. mollis were probably also involved in variations of decoration.{{SCH}}
}}
==Cultivation==
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===Propagation===
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===Pests and diseases===
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==Species==
Selected species{{wp}}:
*''[[Acanthus balcanicus]]'' <small>Heywood & I.Richardson</small> (Syn. ''Acanthus hungaricus'' <small>([[Vincze von Borbás|Borbás]]) [[Carl Baenitz|Baenitz]]</small>, ''Acanthus longifolius'' <small>[[Nicolaus Thomas Host|Host]]</small>)
*''[[Acanthus dioscoridis]]'' <small>[[Carl Ludwig Willdenow|Willd.]]</small>
*''[[Acanthus ebracteatus]]'' <small>[[Martin Vahl|Vahl]]</small>
*''[[Acanthus eminens]]'' <small>[[Charles Baron Clarke|C.B.Clarke]]</small>
*''[[Acanthus hirsutus]]'' <small>[[Pierre Edmond Boissier|Boiss.]]</small>
*''[[Acanthus ilicifolius]]'' <small>[[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]</small>
*''[[Acanthus mollis]]'' <small>[[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]</small>
*''[[Acanthus montanus]]'' <small>[[Thomas Anderson (botanist)|T.Anders.]]</small>
*''[[Acanthus polystachyus]]'' <small>[[Alire Raffeneau-Delile|Delile]]</small>
*''[[Acanthus spinosus]]'' <small>[[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]</small>
*''[[Acanthus syriacus]]'' <small>[[Pierre Edmond Boissier|Boiss.]]</small><ref name="GRINSpecies>{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?61 |title=Species Records of ''Acanthus'' |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |accessdate=2010-06-19}}</ref>
==Gallery==
{{photo-sources}}<!-- remove this line if there are already 3 or more photos in the gallery -->
<gallery>
Image:Acanthus montanus3.jpg| Acanthus montanus
Image:Upload.png| photo 2
Image:Upload.png| photo 3
</gallery>
==References==
==References==
*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Acanthus&SPECIES_XREF=&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Acanthus'']
<!--- xxxxx *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381 -->
*[http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?61 Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Acanthus'']
<!--- xxxxx *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432 -->
*[http://www.dipbot.unict.it/orto/0359-1.html Images of Acanthus]
<!--- xxxxx *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608 -->
==External links==
*{{wplink}}
{{stub}}
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