WorldFloraDB - Acanthus mollis

Characteristics

Perennial herb with thick roots. Stems to c. 120 cm high, stout. Petiole usually 10-50 cm long in radical lvs, 2-5 cm long in cauline lvs. Lamina oblong to ovate-oblong or broadly ovate, to c. 50 × 30 cm, pinnatifid to pinnatisect, sometimes with 1-2 distinct basal leaflets; lobes or leaflets dentate (spinose-dentate in cauline lvs), glabrous or puberulent beneath on the veins, dark glossy green above. Bracts 3-4 cm long, ovate or broad-ovate, spinose-dentate; main veins raised, purplish. Calyx 3.5-5 cm long (uppermost and lowermost lobes); lobes entire, purplish towards apex. Corolla 4-5.5 cm long, whitish or pale pink with purple or brownish veins; lobes broad and rounded. Filaments stout, c. 2.5 cm × 2.5 mm, often curved; anthers villous on ventral side. Capsule 3-4 cm long, oblong-ovoid, shining, beaked. Seed 1-1.3 cm wide, flattened.

More

A perennial herb. It has an underground stem or rhizome. It grows 30-80 cm tall. The leaves near the base are 40 cm long and 25 cm wide. The flowering spike is 30-40 cm tall. This can have 120 flowers. A flower is tube shaped and 5 cm long. It has tubers that form large clumps.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

herb

Growth support

-

Foliage retention

deciduous

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

entomogamy

Spread

autochory

Mature width (meter)

1.0

Mature height (meter)

1.0 - 1.5

Root system

rhizome

Rooting depth (meter)

1.5

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

Fruiting months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It grows in sunny or slightly shaded places. It grows in well drained soils.

More

Woodland scrub and stony hillsides.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

Uses	environmental use medicinal ornamental
Edible	leaves
Therapeutic use	Antidiarrheic (unspecified), Astringent (unspecified), Depurative (unspecified), Emollient (unspecified), Expectorant (unspecified), Hemostatic (unspecified), Nervine (unspecified), Sclerosis(Spleen) (unspecified), Stimulant (unspecified), Stomachic (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Vulnerary (unspecified)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from tubers.

Mode	cuttings divisions seedlings tubers
Germination duration (days)	21 - 25
Germination temperacture (C°)	10 - 12
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-23
Optimum temperature (C°)	15 - 30
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-