Bear’s Breeches, the Corinthian Columns Capital Plant

Leaf Persistence
Evergreen / Semi Evergreen
Form
Herbaceous Perennial
Texture
Coarse
Growth Rate
Moderate

Flowering Period (Northern Hemisphere)
May – July to August
Fruiting Period
Summer
Height
10.6 to 1.2 m (2-4 ft)
Diameter
0.6 to 1.2 m (2-4 ft)

Leaves Shape
Ovate, Pinnatifid
Foliage Colour
Dark Green
Autumn Foliage Colour
Dark Green

Flowers Shape
Tubular
Flowers Colour
White-Purple Pink
Fruit
Brown Capsule

Soil Type: Well-drained, sand, loam, slightly acidic to neutral
Exposure: Sun, Half-Shade
Soil pH: 6-7
Watering: Medium
Hardiness: −15 °C (5 °F – USDA Hardiness Zone 7b)

In parks, squares, gardens, flower pots and planters, cut flowers and dried flowers

The name of the genus Acanthus is the Latin version of the Ancient Greek word ἄκανθος, which is complex, as it is formed from the words ἀκή and ἄνθος.

The first means sharp and comes from the same meaning Proto-Indo-European word *h₂eḱ-, and the second, used in Modern Greek with the same original meaning, i.e. flower, comes from the Proto-Indo-European word *h₂éndʰos, and means bloom, blossom and flower.

Therefore the name of the genus Acanthus could be given as a sharp plant, thorny plant, spiny plant, or a plant with sharp flowers and / or leaves – an extremely apt name, as it conveys a very accurate picture of the plants that make it up.

The name of the species mollis is a Latin word which is interpreted as soft, weak, conveying to the speech the feeling it gives to the touch, the texture of the plant leaf.

Its origin is found in the Proto-Indo-European word *(h₂) moldus, which also means soft, weak, while its most distant source is found in the Proto-Indo-European root *mel-, whose meaning is soft, weak, tender.

Note

We can not fail to point out here that, while each of the words Acanthus and mollis aptly ascribes the properties of plants of the species, when they are seen as a whole then they are interpreted as a tender thorn, an oxymoron – if we do not miss something.

And if we really do not miss something, then with a little comic mood we could say that the expression tender thorn reminds us of the Tenderfoot of Lucky Luke (as the old settlers of the Wild West called the newcomers botanically).

But more about the tender thorn, in the continuation of the article, while for the Tenderfoot we refer the reader to the Lucky Luke issue of the same title (Le Pied-tendre – The Tenderfoot).

Bear’s Breeches is a native plant of southern Europe and the regions of the Mediterranean Basin and its islands. Its habitats are mainly calcareous soils in brushwood forests as well as rocky slopes and stony hillsides sheltered from the north.

The plant can be relatively easily escaped from the garden, either with the seeds or with pieces of the rhizome, and turned into a weed. For this reason, the attention of those who plant Artist’s Acanthus outside the urban areas is recommended, in order to remove the mature flowers in time, not allowing the production and dispersal of the plant’s seeds.

Bear’s Breeches life spans over 10 years. Of course, in cultivation is recommended to separate it every 3 to 5 years, so life expectancy is clearly greater.

Bear’s Breeches is a perennial, rhizomatous plant, of upright habit. Its shape is spherical, has dense foliage and is characterized as a coarse texture.

It is an evergreen plant, but maintaining or not foliage does not depend on temperature but in soil moisture.

Indeed, if there is not enough moisture or the plant is not irrigated normally after the end of flowering, in the summer, it completely loses its foliage. Otherwise the leaves remain.

The flowers of Bear’s Breeches are hermaphroditic (perfect), zygomorphic, white to purple-red, carried on dense, terminal, cylindrical spikes inflorescence, and are numerous, 100 to 120 per flower stem.

Each flower is covered on the underside by 1 bract, however the bracts at the base of the inflorescence often lack flowers.

The bracts grow cuneate from the flower stem and are covered on their entire surface by fine pubescent. They terminate on either side of the midrib in 4 to 5 to 7 sharp spiny teeth, while they show 5 main veins that start from the base.

They have an ovate shape, and their dimensions are 3 to 4 cm in length, and about 1 cm in width.

Although the Bear’s Breeches belongs to the Acanthaceae family, the members of which have flowers mostly bilabiate, here the corolla of the flower, about 4 to 4.5 cm long, shows on the lower side 1 three-lobed white lip, but the upper one is absense.

The role of the upper lip is played by the upper part of the 4-lobed calyx, which like the lower one is large, with a length of 4 and 3 cm respectively, while both are covered by a fine pubescent, and end in a serrated apex. The lateral parts of the calyx are small.

Between the corolla and the bracts grow the 2 cm long bracteoles, which have a lanceolate – linear shape, and are covered by pubescent.

The stamens of the flower are 4, didynamous, ending in 1-celled anthers of purple or brown color, and are carried on filaments 0.2 to 0.25 cm long.

The ovary is Inferior, hairless, unlike the about 3 cm long style, which has hairs on its upper and lower part.

The pollination takes place with insects – bees or wild bees of the Bombus genus.

The fruit is green and mucronate oval dry capsule, shiny or glabrous, with mucro’s few hairs at the base. The capsule is bi-locular, dehiscent, and sometimes looks-like a small lemon.
When ripe, it becomes hard, and longitudinall splits open along the midrib or dorsal suture, and the indurated funicles, the jaculators, eject the 2 to 4 seeds that contains at a long distance, thus ensuring their maximum dispersion.

The seeds are hard, with a wrinkled coat’s appearance, have a flattened oval shape and a dark brown color, and their length is between 1 and 1.4 cm while their width is between 0.6 and 0.8 cm.

The Acanthus mollis, due to its origin, is a plant fully adapted to the Mediterranean climatic conditions.
It successfully copes with minimum temperatures that reach -12 to -15 °C (10-5 °F), while in terms of maximum values, it does not face problems up to 40 °C (104 °F) – sometimes even higher – especially if it is planted in half shade places.

The Bear’s Breeches grows in various soil types, even in gravelly, rocky or stony, except for heavy clay soils and those that hold water or are permanently waterlogged. However, it thrives in light or medium-textured soils, which are of medium or high fertility.

In terms of soil pH, suitable for plant growth is one that has values between 6 and 7 – that is, slightly acidic to neutral reaction soils.

The Artist’s Acanthus belongs to the plants that are not particularly troubled by pests and diseases, as in practice there are no parasites that can harm it.

An exception to this idyllic setting are the Helix sp. (Snails) and Limax sp. (Slugs), which when they find Bear’s Breeches are able to party with the plants, defoliating them.

Also sometimes Cercospora beticola (Cercospora Leaf Spot of Beets) and Golovinomyces orontii (Powdery mildew) from fungi can infect the plant.

With the timely use of appropriate formulations all the above mentioned pests are treated satisfactorily.

The plant is not toxic to humans or pets.

Being an entomophilous plant, it does not cause allergic respiratory reactions.

Although not one of the most widespread species, however, several Bear’s Breeches varieties have been created. Some of the most interesting ones are presented below.

A particularly decorative variety, thanks of course to its flowers but also to the color of its foliage, as it appears yellow-green or golden-green in spring, bright green in summer and again yellow-green or golden-green in autumn. It is slightly smaller in growth than the typical species, reaching a height and diameter of 80 to 100 cm.

The element that makes this variety special is its pure white flowers with green bracts. In combination with the duration of its flowering, which reaches approximately three months, it is truly an impressive ornament for any garden. It is therefore not surprising that it has received the prestigious Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society of the United Kingdom. As a plant, it presents no difficulty in cultivation.

It comes from Tasmania, of course, and presents a unique ornamental interest as it has dark green leaves with irregular white margins and spots, while from its rich foliage grow the long flower stalks that on the spike inflorescence bear abundant pink flowers with pure white bracts. It is not a very cold-resistant variety, as the minimum tolerated values of the lowest temperatures should not fall below -9.4 °C (15 °F).

To create this very decorative variety, Acanthus mollis ‘Tasmanian Angel’ plants (pollen parent) were crossed with Acanthus x ‘Summer Beauty’ plants (seed parent). The result is attractive foliage, the bright green leaves of which are varied with white-cream margins and spots, and striking flowers, which are pure white at first, but gradually take on pink hues while the bracts remain white. Each spike inflorescence of the plant blooms for about 5 weeks, from May to July.

Bear’s Breeches in both its widespread species, Acanthus spinosus and Acanthus mollis, are of great pharmaceutical interest but also of considerable ethobotany use.

Related research has shown what is rightly recommended in traditional medicine to use the roots as a cataplasm for treating psoriasis. This is why it has been shown that the methanolic extract of the leaves of the plant has inhibitory activity on cycloxygenase and lipoxygenase.

Still the Bear’s Breeches leaf extract has shown that it has antiparasitic activity against schistosoma (Blood-flukes – Schistosoma mansoni cercariae).

In traditional medicine, Bear’s Breeches is also recommended for the treatment of burns, wounds and sprains.

The Acanthus mollis is characterized as an architectural plant due to the geometric features of the foliage and its flowering parts. These features give great flexibility in its use.

Thus, among others, Bear’s Breeches can be planted:

• Linear in front of buildings of neoclassical or modern rhythm. In the first case harmony will arise from the continuation of the architectural lines in the plant world, while in the second, from the dynamic contrast.

• In groups between other shrubs and herbaceous, especially if it is desired to highlight the vertical-to-horizon level.

• In the archaeological sites

• Under olive trees used mainly for ornamental purposes.

• In compositions with other shrubs and herbs such as Echinops, Salvias, New Zealand Flaxes and Box-Leaved Honeysuckles (eg Echinops bannaticus ‘Blue Glow’, Phormium tenax ‘Variegatum’, Salvia mexicana, Lonicera pileata ‘Moss Green’)

The References to the article entitled Bear’s Breeches (Acanthus mollis), the Corinthian Columns Capital Plant are presented by Gioconda’s Smile, which belongs not only to one of the most important paintings in Western painting but also to a potentially -mutatis mutandis- worthy musical work: Manos Hadjidakis from Gioconda’s Smile the composition When The Clouds Come.