''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of small

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s within the plumbago or leadwort family,

Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family. Most species in this family are perennial plant, perennial h ...

. They are distributed from southeastern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

to central

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and also cultivated elsewhere in

rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...

Form

The evergreen

subshrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or undershrub is either a small shrub (e.g. prostrate shrubs) or a perennial that is largely herbaceous but slightly woody at the base (e.g. garden pink and florist's chrysanthemum). The term is often interch ...

s are generally cushion to mat-forming, with densely tufted shoots bearing mostly awl (long, pointed spike) to needle or grass-like, prickle to spine-tipped hard-textured leaves. They have shortish, simple or branched flower stems which can be loose or dense. The summer-borne flowers are composed of a funnel-shaped calyx, usually with a flared membranous margin, and five spreading petals.

Species

321 species are currently accepted. Selected species of ''Acantholimon'' include: *'' Acantholimon acanthobryum'' *'' Acantholimon acerosum'' *'' Acantholimon acmostegium'' *'' Acantholimon afanassievii'' *'' Acantholimon alberti'' *''

Acantholimon anatolicum ''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a genus of small flowering plants within the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. They are distributed from southeastern Europe to central Asia, and also cultivated elsewhere in rock gardens. Form The ...

'' *'' Acantholimon armenum'' *'' Acantholimon artosense'' *'' Acantholimon avenaceum'' *'' Acantholimon bashkaleicum'' *'' Acantholimon birandii'' *'' Acantholimon calvertii'' *'' Acantholimon capitatum'' *'' Acantholimon collare'' *'' Acantholimon davisii'' *'' Acantholimon doganii'' *'' Acantholimon ekatherinae'' *'' Acantholimon gabrieljaniae'' *'' Acantholimon gillii'' *''

Acantholimon glumaceum ''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a genus of small flowering plants within the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. They are distributed from southeastern Europe to central Asia, and also cultivated elsewhere in rock gardens. Form The ...

'' *''

Acantholimon goeksunicum ''Acantholimon goeksunicum'' is a species of plant belonging to the family Plumbaginaceae. It is only found on calcareous steppes in southeastern Anatolia (Turkey). This is a very small, low shrublet with scapes of up to 8 cm bearing two- ...

'' *'' Acantholimon hoshapicum'' *'' Acantholimon ibrahimii'' *'' Acantholimon karamanicum'' *'' Acantholimon koeycegizicum'' *'' Acantholimon kotschyi'' *'' Acantholimon libanoticum'' *'' Acantholimon riyatguelii'' *'' Acantholimon schemachense'' *'' Acantholimon tataricum'' *'' Acantholimon trojanum'' *'' Acantholimon turcicum'' *'' Acantholimon ulicinum'' *'' Acantholimon vedicum'' *'' Acantholimon venustum'' *'' Acantholimon yildizelicum''

References

Plumbaginaceae genera Taxa named by Pierre Edmond Boissier Flora of the Palearctic realm {{Caryophyllales-stub