''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 Acanthaceae is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in tem ...

and is native to the

Mediterranean region In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and wa ...

. It is a leafy, clump-forming

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

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

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

ous roots. It has a basal rosette of dark glossy green, lobed or divided,

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

leaves long and wide on a petiole long. The flowers are borne on an erect spike up to tall emerging from the leaf rosette. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s are purplish and function as the upper and lower lips of the petals, the upper lip about long and the lower lip long. The petals are about 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 long containing one or two brown seeds about long and wide.

Taxonomy and naming

''Acanthus mollis'' was first formally described in 1753 by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

in his book '' Species Plantarum''. The name of the genus derives from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

name of the plant ''ákanthos''; it was imitated in Corinthian capitals. This ''ákanthos'' is related to ''ákantha'' meaning "thorn" referring to the thorn-bearing sepals, or any thorny or prickly plant in Greek. The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

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 Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, some ...

, 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 Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing s ...

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 Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide varie ...

(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 Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect ...

. For centuries, stone or bronze stylized versions of acanthus leaves have appeared as acanthus decorations on certain styles of architecture and furniture.

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

described Helen of Troy as wearing a dress embroidered with ''Acanthus'' leaves.

Gallery

File:Acanthus mollis5.jpg, Habit File:Acanthaceae - Acanthus mollis-2.JPG, Close-up of stamens File:Acanthus_mollis_flower.JPG, Lateral view File:2007-07-13Acanthus09.jpg, Fruit File:AcanthusmollisPalatineHill.jpg, Flowering plant in the ruins of the Palatine Hill,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

File:Acanthus_mollis_inflorescence.JPG, Inflorescence File:Acanthaceae - Acanthus mollis.JPG, Leaf File:Acanthus mollis MHNT.BOT.2007.43.58.jpg, Fruit and seeds File:Bear's breeches at BBG (50819).jpg, inflorescence File:Acanthus mollis flower parts text.jpg, Dismembered flower

References

External links

* The Introduced Flora of Australia and its Weed Status, by R.P.Randall, Department of Agriculture and Food,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

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Biolib

Malta Wild Plants
{{Taxonbar, from=Q136648 Acanthus (plant), mollis Garden plants of Europe Garden plants of Africa Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Malta Flora of the Mediterranean Basin