Acanthaceae is a 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 temperate regions. The four main centres of distribution are Indonesia and Malaysia, Africa, Brazil, and Central America. Representatives of the family can be found in nearly every habitat, including dense or open forests, scrublands, wet fields and valleys, sea coast and marine areas, swamps, and mangrove forests.
Ajuga, also known as bugleweed, ground pine, carpet bugle, or just bugle, is a genus of flowering plants in the Ajugeae tribe of the mint family Lamiaceae. There are over 60 species of annual or perennial, mostly herbaceous plants. They are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Anthriscus (chervils) is a common plant genus of the family Apiaceae, growing in Europe and temperate parts of Asia. It comprises 15 species. The genus grows in meadows and verges on slightly wet porous soils. One species, Anthriscus cerefolium is cultivated and used in the kitchen to flavor foods.
Justicia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It is the largest genus within the family, encompassing around 700 species with hundreds more as yet unresolved. They are native to tropical to warm temperate regions of the Americas, India, and Africa. The genus serves as host to many butterfly species, such as Anartia fatima. Common names include water-willow and shrimp plant, the latter from the inflorescences, which resemble a shrimp in some species. The generic name honours Scottish horticulturist James Justice (1698–1763). They are closely related to Pachystachys.
Corchorus is a genus of about 40–100 species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world.
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 and is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a leafy, clump-forming perennial herb, with a rosette of relatively large, lobed or toothed leaves, and purplish and white flowers on an erect spike.
Bupleurum is a large genus of annual or perennial herbs or woody shrubs, with about 190 species, belonging to the family Apiaceae. The full size of its species may vary between a few cm to up to 3 m high. Their compound umbels of small flowers are adorned with bracteoles that are sometimes large and may play a role in attracting pollinators. Rare among the Apiaceae are the simple leaves, bracts, and bracteoles. The genus is almost exclusively native in the Old World Northern Hemisphere, with one species native to North America and one species native to southern Africa.
Avicennia is a genus of flowering plants currently placed in the bear's breeches family, Acanthaceae. It contains mangrove trees, which occur in the intertidal zones of estuarine areas and are characterized by its "pencil roots", which are aerial roots. They are also commonly known as api api, which in the Malay language means "fires", a reference to the fact that fireflies often congregate on these trees. Species of Avicennia occur worldwide south of the Tropic of Cancer.
Aethionema is a genus of flowering plants within the family Brassicaceae. They are known as stonecresses. Stonecresses originate from sunny limestone mountainsides in Europe and West Asia, especially Turkey.
The acanthus is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration in the architectural tradition emanating from Greece and Rome.
The genus Securigera contains a number of plant species commonly referred to as crownvetch. It is a segregate of the genus Coronilla. The name Securigera was first published by A. P. de Candolle in 1805 with the single species Securigera coronilla, which is now considered to be a synonym of Securigera securidaca(L.) Degen & Dörfl. (1897), based on the earlier publication of the same taxon as Coronilla securidacaL. in 1753.
The genus of the myrrhs, Commiphora, is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout the (sub-) tropical regions of Africa, the western Indian Ocean islands, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and South America. The genus is drought-tolerant and common throughout the xerophytic scrub, seasonally dry tropical forests, and woodlands of these regions.
Dinteracanthus is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Acanthaceae.
Blepharis dhofarensis is a species of plant in the family Acanthaceae. It is a shrub that grows to around 5m tall and is found in Oman and Yemen. Blepharis dhofarensis grows on wet escarpment woodlands and it prefers dense thickets on steep slopes. It is threatened by habitat loss. Recent molecular work has placed it in the genus Acanthus instead of Blepharis.
Acanthus ebracteatus is a species of shrubby herb that grows in the undergrowth of mangroves of south-east Asia. Common names include sea holly and holly mangrove.
Acanthus spinosus, the spiny bear's breech, is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to southern Europe, from Italy to western Turkey. It is an herbaceous perennial growing to 150 cm (59 in) tall by 60–90 cm (24–35 in) wide. The deeply cut leaves have spiny margins, and in early summer it bears erect, 1 m (3 ft) long racemes of white flowers with maroon bracts.
Acanthus ilicifolius, commonly known as holly-leaved acanthus, sea holly, and holy mangrove, is a species of shrubs or herbs, of the plant family Acanthaceae, native to Australia, Australasia, and Southeast Asia. It is used as medicine in asthma and rheumatism.
Rhizophora mucronata is a species of mangrove found on coasts and river banks in East Africa and the Indo-Pacific region.
Limoniastrum monopetalum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae that is native to between Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia. It has been found in salt marshes, dunes and other coastal areas with high salinity levels. It has silver-grey or light green leaves on multi branching stems. At the ends of the stems are the summer blooming flowers, in shades of pink, purple, lavender and violet. It is known to be salt and drought tolerant, as well as having the ability to withstand some forms of soil pollution.
Bolanthus is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae.
