Family: Acanthaceae
Species: Acanthus mollis L.
Vulgar name: Common Acanthus, Bear Branca, Brancalupo - English: Bear's Breeches
Etymology
The genus Acanthus means “spiny flower” because of the leaves’ spiny ends and the seed capsules. Mollis refers to leaves that are not spiny, unlike those of other related species.
Description
A large herbaceous perennial plant (50–120 cm) with long, flower-bearing, erect stems rising from the center of sizeable rosettes of leaves. The basal leaves are slightly villous on the upper surface, pubescent on the veins of the lower surface and the petiole, and can reach up to 80 cm long. They have a bright green lamina, darker on the top side, with a deeply lobed margin. The upper leaves are smaller, lanceolate, spiny at the apex, and lack a petiole.
The inflorescence resembles a cylindrical spike with numerous flowers, featuring a bilabiate calyx and a larger, hood-shaped, purplish upper lip. The corolla is reduced to a single, trilobed, whitish lower lip with purple veins. The fruit is a capsule that opens explosively, projecting its large, blackish-brown seeds some distance away.
Habitat
Acanthus is widespread in the western and central Mediterranean region; its range extends from northwestern Africa to Croatia and includes Portugal. In Italy, it is common along the coasts of the peninsular territory and the islands, penetrating further inland as one moves southward.
Properties and Uses
Officinal species. It is an astringent, cleansing, and emollient plant that contains many mucilaginous substances, for which it was prescribed against intestinal inflammation, erythema, insect (spider) bites, and tuberculosis. The leaves are used as an infusion for their emollient properties, so much so that it inspired the symbol of Sweetness.
Please note: Pharmaceutical applications are presented for informational purposes only. We disclaim any responsibility for their curative, aesthetic, or dietary use.
Notes and Trivia
According to a Greek legend, the nurse of a Corinthian maiden who died at a young age placed a basket containing her cherished objects on the tomb, covering it with a tile. One day, the architect Callimachus passed by and saw the tile lifted by a harmonious tuft of acanthus leaves growing on the tomb as if symbolizing the maiden’s immortality. This vision is said to have inspired him to create the calato of the Corinthian capital, decorated with this plant's large, deeply incised, and highly decorative leaves.
Giovanni Pascoli sang not the leaves but the white acanthus flower mottled with purple in the poetry collection Myricae.
It has been used since ancient times to decorate shady, cool areas of gardens, such as the Heller Botanical Garden, where it blooms from March to June.