TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

ACANTHACEAE

ACANTHUS FAMILY

Lawrence R. Heckard

Annual, perennial herb, shrubs
Leaves simple, generally opposite; stipules 0
Inflorescence: cyme, spike, or raceme, bracted
Flower bisexual; calyx deeply (3)4–5 lobed; corolla 4–5 lobed, nearly radial to 2-lipped; stamens (2)4, epipetalous, anther sacs sometimes dissimilar in size or placement; ovary superior, chambers 2, ovules 4–many, placentas axile, style long, stigmas 1–2
Fruit: capsule, loculicidal, generally dehiscing explosively
Seeds generally 2 per chamber, ejected by specialized hook-like stalks
Genera in family: 250 genera, 3000 species: especially tropical; some ornamental: Justicia (Beloperone, shrimp-plant), Acanthus , Thunbergia. [Daniel 1984 Desert Plants 5:162–179]