''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of small

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s within the plumbago or leadwort family,

Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family. Most species in this family are perennial herbaceous plants, but a few grow a ...

. They are distributed from southeastern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

to central

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

and also in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

, but also cultivated elsewhere in

rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...

Form

The evergreen

subshrub A subshrub ( Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their ...

s are generally cushion to mat-forming, with densely tufted shoots bearing mostly awl (long, pointed spike) to needle or grass-like, prickle to spine-tipped hard-textured leaves. They have shortish, simple or branched flower stems which can be loose or dense. The summer-borne flowers are composed of a funnel-shaped

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

, usually with a flared membranous margin, and five spreading petals.

Species

There are over 400 species. Selected species of ''Acantholimon'' include: *''

Acantholimon acerosum ''Acantholimon acerosum'' is a species of plant in the Plumbaginaceae family that is native from Turkey to Northwest Iran. The species are evergreen and sprout flowers June. Acantholimon acerosum grows in light well drained soil that is gri ...

'' *'' Acantholimon albertii'' *''

Acantholimon anatolicum ''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a genus of small flowering plants within the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. They are distributed from southeastern Europe to central Asia and also in South America, but also cultivated else ...

'' *''

Acantholimon armenum ''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a genus of small flowering plants within the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. They are distributed from southeastern Europe to central Asia and also in South America, but also cultivated else ...

'' *'' Acantholimon artosense'' *'' Acantholimon avenaceum'' *'' Acantholimon bashkaleicum'' *'' Acantholimon birandii'' *'' Acantholimon calvertii'' *'' Acantholimon capitatum'' *'' Acantholimon davisii'' *'' Acantholimon doganii'' *'' Acantholimon gabrieljaniae'' *'' Acantholimon gillii'' *'' Acantholimon glumaceum'' *'' Acantholimon goeksunicum'' *'' Acantholimon hoshapicum'' *'' Acantholimon ibrahimii'' *'' Acantholimon karamanicum'' *''

Acantholimon koeycegizicum Acantholimon koeycegizicum, is a species of plant belonging to the family Plumbaginaceae. It is only found in coastal regions of southwestern Anatolia (Turkey), often associated with forests of Turkish Pine. It is a robust, rather spiny shru ...

'' *''

Acantholimon kotschyi ''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a genus of small flowering plants within the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. They are distributed from southeastern Europe to central Asia and also in South America, but also cultivated else ...

'' *''

Acantholimon libanoticum ''Acantholimon libanoticum'' (Lebanese prickly thrift, غملول لبناني) is a plant in the family Plumbaginaceae first described by Pierre Edmond Boissier. It is native to Western Asia from Turkey to Syria and Lebanon Lebanon ( , a ...

'' *''

Acantholimon riyatguelii ''Acantholimon riyatguelii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. The native range of this species is in Turkey and Iran. It was first described by Hasan Yıldırım in 2014. References riyatguelii Flora o ...

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Acantholimon schemachense ''Acantholimon schemachense'' is a species of flowering plant in the Plumbaginaceae family. The native range of this species is in the North Caucasus and the Transcaucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transca ...

'' *''

Acantholimon turcicum ''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a genus of small flowering plants within the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. They are distributed from southeastern Europe to central Asia and also in South America, but also cultivated else ...

'' *''

Acantholimon ulicinum ''Acantholimon ulicinum'' (ulicinum: yoo-lih-SEE-num), also known as the prickly thief, is a species of broadleaf evergreen plants in the family Plumbaginaceae. ''Acantholimon ulicinum'' is around tall and has a spread of . The species is endem ...

'' *''

Acantholimon vedicum ''Acantholimon vedicum'', the Vedian prickly thrift, is a species of leadwort that is endemic to central Armenia, and is only found in the Yerevan floristic region, on the limestone massif Erakh between elevations of 900–1,000 m, close t ...

'' *''

Acantholimon venustum ''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a genus of small flowering plants within the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. They are distributed from southeastern Europe to central Asia and also in South America, but also cultivated else ...

'' *''

Acantholimon yildizelicum ''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a genus of small flowering plants within the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. They are distributed from southeastern Europe to central Asia and also in South America, but also cultivated else ...

References

Caryophyllales genera Taxa named by Pierre Edmond Boissier {{Caryophyllales-stub