Acanthus spinosus L. (Medit.) – A frequently cultivated ornamental, this species is sometimes seen as an escape in recent years. More or less typical plants have been recorded, for instance, in Heverlee and Oudenaarde, both in 2016. In the first locality it probably is a mere relic from a wild flower seed mixture. The second locality is a railway siding and probably more natural.
There are relatively few records of Acanthus spinosus outside of cultivation. It is known from the British Isles where it is much less common than A. mollis (Stace 2010).
Plants intermediate between Acanthus spinosus, A. mollis and A. hungaricus are also found in cultivation. These represent complex, possibly multiple hybrids (Brummitt 2000). The plants seen so far in Belgium seem to be fairly typical and probably belong to genuine A. spinosus.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Selected literature:
Brummitt R.K. (2000) Acanthus. In: Cullen J. & al. (eds.), The European Garden Flora, vol. 6. Cambridge UniversityPress, Cambridge: 364-366.
Stace C. (2010) New flora of the British Isles, 3th ed.: XXXII + 1232 p. Cambridge University Press.