Acanthus ( lat. Acantháceae ) - a family of dicotyledonous plants of the order of clear-flowered . These are perennial herbaceous plants and shrubs , less often vines ; some are epiphytes . They grow mainly in the tropics , few species - in the temperate zone .
| Acanthus | |||||||||||||||||
 Odontonema tubaeforme flowers | |||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | |||||||||||||||||
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| International scientific name | |||||||||||||||||
Acanthaceae Juss. , 1789 , nom. cons. | |||||||||||||||||
| Synonyms | |||||||||||||||||
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| Type genus | |||||||||||||||||
Acanthus L. - Acanthus | |||||||||||||||||
| Subfamilies and childbirth | |||||||||||||||||
See text See also Childbirth of Acanthus family (with subfamily and tribe) | |||||||||||||||||
The family has more than 3,940 different plant species, divided into approximately 242 genera [2] , living in the equatorial and tropical regions. There are four acanthus distribution centers: the Malacca Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago , Africa , Brazil and Central America . Representatives of the family are also found on the Mediterranean coast , the southern United States , Australia and Oceania . Representatives of the family can be found in various ecosystems : the jungle , light forests , bush , water meadows , on the coast , in swamps and as an element of mangroves .
Content
Biological Description
Plants have broad-lobed, cirrus, elliptical or ovoid leaves , with smooth, less often serrated, pubescent or prickly edges. Leaves may contain cystolites or nodules of calcium carbonate, visible as veins. The flowers are zygomorphic, close to actinomorphic, solitary or collected in inflorescences (brushes, spike-shaped or cymose). Flowers with bracts , in some species with very large and bright. Calyx usually 4–5 lobed; corolla tubular, two-lipped or five-lobed; stamens two or four pairwise collected. Ovary superior, two-membered, with axillary placentation. The fruit is a two-nosed box opening with cracks. In many species, the seeds are attached to a small hook-shaped stalk (a modified seed shaft), which, when straightened, throws them out of the box.
Cultivation
Species well-known in horticulture include Acanthus mild ( Acanthus mollis ), a perennial herb with large leaves and spike-shaped inflorescences up to 2 m high. Tropical genera such as Thunbergia and Justicia also enjoy the attention of gardeners.
Many acanthus (primarily species of the genera Akant ( Acanthus ), Afelandra ( Aphelandra ), Justice , Thunbergia are also popular greenhouse and indoor plants, thanks to beautiful leaves and bright fragrant flowers.
Nomenclature and systematics
Avicennia ( Avicennia ), usually belonging to the Verbenaceae or isolated in its own Avicenniaceae family, is now included in Acanthaceae based on molecular phylogenetic studies by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group .
The family is divided into 4 subfamilies, while the subfamily Acanthoideae is divided into 6 tribes:
- Acanthoideae
- Acantheae
- Andrographideae
- Barlerieae
- Justicieae
- Ruellieae
- Whitfieldieae
- Avicennioideae
- Nelsonioideae
- Thunbergioideae
According to the site of The Plant List , the family includes 242 genera, some of them [3] :
- Acanthopale CBClarke - Akantopale
- Acanthopsis Harv. - Akantopsis
- Acanthura Lindau - Acantura
- Acanthus L. typus - Acanthus
- Anisacanthus Nees - Anisacanthus
- Aphelandra R. Br. - Afelandra
- Asystasia Blume - Asistasia
- Avicennia L. - Avicennia
- Barleria L. - Barleria
- Chamaeranthemum Nees - Hamerantemum
- Crossandra Salisb. - Crossandra
- Crossandrella CBClarke - Crossandrella
- Dicliptera juss. - diclipper
- Dolichostachys Benoist - Dolichostachis
- Duosperma Dayton - Duosperma
- Dyschoriste Nees - Dyschoriste
- Elytraria Michx. - Elitraria
- Eranthemum L. - Erantemum
- Fittonia Coem. - Fittonia
- Geissomeria Lindl.
- Graptophyllum nees
- Gymnostachyum nees
- Hemigraphis Nees - Hemigraphis
- Hygrophila R.Br. - Hygrophila
- Hypoestes Sol. ex R.Br. - Hypoesthes
- Justicia L. - Justice
- Lepidagathis Willd. - Lepidagatis
- Lophostachys pohl
- Mackaya Harv. - Makaya
- Mendoncia Vand.
- Mimulopsis Schweinf. - Mimulopsis
- Monechma Hochst.
- Neriacanthus Benth.
- Neuracanthus nees
- Odontonema Nees - Odontonema
- Oplonia Raf. - Oplonia
- Pachystachys Nees - Pachistachis
- Pericalypta Benoist - Pericalyptus
- Peristrophe Nees - Peristophe
- Petalidium Nees - Petalidium
- Podorungia Baill. - Podorungia
- Populina Baill. - Populina
- Pranceacanthus Wassh. - Pranceacanthus
- Pseuderanthemum Radlk. - Pseudorantemum
- Ritonia Benoist - Ritonia
- Ruellia L. - Ruellia
- Ruttya Harv.
- Sanchezia Ruiz & Pav. - Sanchezia
- Stenandriopsis S. Moore - Stendariopsis
- Stenandrium Nees - Stenandrium
- Stenostephanus Nees - Stenostephanus7
- Streblacanthus Kuntze - Streblacanthus
- Strobilanthes Blume - Strobilant
- Tetramerium nees
- Thunbergia Retz. - Tunbergia
- Whitfieldia Hook. - Whitefield
- Xenacanthus Bremek.
Fittonia verschaffeltii leaf
Asystasia gangetica
Peristrophe speciosa
Aphelandra sinclairiana
Literature
- Saakov S.G. Greenhouse and indoor plants and their care - L .: Nauka, 1985. - 621 p.
- Schwarzbach, Andrea E. and McDade, Lucinda A. Phylogenetic relationships of the mangrove family Avicenniaceae based on chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences (Eng.) // Systematic Botany: journal. - 2002. - Vol. 27 . - P. 84-98 .
Notes
- ↑ For the conventionality of specifying the class of dicotyledons as a superior taxon for the plant group described in this article, see the APG Systems section of the Dicotyledonous article .
- ↑ The Plant List : Acanthaceae
- ↑ Acanthaceae. The Plant List .
Links
- Acanthaceae in L. Watson and MJ Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.
- Tree of life acanthaceae