ACANTHUS -botany

 ACANTHUS -botany 

ACANTHUS: name given by the Greeks and Romans the plants sometimes called Brancursine, of which it is the botanical generic name. A. mollis and A. spinosa natives of the s. of Europe. are the species best known, twining habit of the plants. their large white flowers and above all the beautiful form of their dark and shining leaves, have led to their artistical application especially in the capitals of Corinthian columns. (See ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE ).

Roman drinking cups have been found whose handles are twined with A. leaves. The ancients made the A. mollis chiefly their pattern; but in Gothic ornaments more use is made of the smaller and less beautiful leaves of A. spinosa. 

The genus A.  is the type of the natural order Acanthaceae, which contains nearly 1,400 known species. They are herbaceous plants or shrubs. chiefly tropical dicotyledonous. The greater part are mere weeds, but the genera Justicia. Aphelandra and Ruellia contain some of the finest hot house flowers. The leaves are opposite. rarely in fours, simple two or three bracts, which are often large and leafy, accompany each flower. The calyx is persistent, usually 5-leaved, occasionally cut into many pieces, sometimes obsolete. The corolla is monopetalous, hypogynous, usually irregular deciduous. The stamens are generally two; some times four; didynamous, the shorter ones sometimes sterile, the anthers 1-2 celled, opening lengthwise. The disk is glandular, the ovary free, 2-celled with two or more ovules in each cell; placentæ adhering in the axis; style one. The fruit is a capsule bursting elastically with two valves, the dissepiment also separating into two pieces through the axis. The seeds are roundish. hanging by hard usually hooked processes of the placenta; testa loose; albumen wanting; १४ embryo curved, or straight, cotyledons large; radicle subcylindrical, next the hilum.Some of the Acanthaceæ are used in their native countries as medicines. A valuable deep blue dye called Room is obtained in Assam from a species of Ruellia. 

References:

1.ALDEN'S MANIFOLD CYCLOPEDIA OF KNOWLEDGE AND LANGUAGE WITH ILLUSTRATIONS VOL 1 A TO AMERICA, NEW YORK JOHN B ALDEN PUBLISHER 1887