Group:
1 Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) - I - Dicotyledons
Family:
Acanthaceae
Genus:
Acanthus
Common sinhala name:
Habit:
Shrub or Large, prickly herb, 70-150 cm.
Origin:
Exotic - Naturalized
National conservation status:
N/A
Legal status:
N/A
Similar species:
All vernacular names:
Flowers white to pinkish-white, surrounded by spiny bracts. Inflorescence a cylindrical spike, -20 cm long.
Leaves opposite, glossy, deeply pinnately lobed with spiny edges.
Cultivated, possibly escaping. (JdV)
Native to West-Africa, cultivated because of its ornamental and medicinal properties. Naturalizing in other parts of SE Asia. (JdV)