Acanthus (ornament)
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The acanthus is one of the most common plant forms used to make foliage ornament and decoration in the architectural tradition emanating from Greece and Rome.
Composite capital with acanthus leaves
Timeline of acanthus styles: a) Greek; b) Roman; c) Byzantine; d) Romanesque; e & f) Gothic; g) Renaissance; h & i) Baroque; j & k) Rococo
Acanthus mollis leaf; in both this and A. spinosus the leaf forms are rather variable
Acanthuses, one natural and the rest manmade, on a Corinthian capital
Acanthus (plant)
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Acanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean Basin and
Acanthus (ornament)
…emanating from Greece and Rome. In architecture, an ornament may be carved into stone or wood to resemble leaves from the Mediterranean species of the Acanthus genus of plants, which have deeply cut leaves with some similarity to those of the thistle and poppy. Both Acanthus mollis and the still more deeply…
Acanthus montanus 3
An acanthus (A. mollis) flowering in the ruins of the Palatine Hill, Rome, May 2005