''Acanthus ebracteatus'' is a species of shrubby herb that grows in the undergrowth of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s of

south-east Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...

. Common names include sea holly and holly mangrove.

Description

It grows as an erect, spreading or scrambling shrubby herb, up to 1.5 metres tall, usually with a great many stems. Its leaves are dark green, stiff, with sharp spines at the end of each deep lobe: very much like those of

holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

(''Ilex''). Flowers are blue, purple or white, and occur in spikes terminal on the branches. The fruit is a square-shaped capsule, which explodes when ripe, projecting the seeds up to two metres from the plant. Seeds are off-white and flat.

Taxonomy

This species was first described by

Martin Vahl Martin Henrichsen Vahl (10 October 1749 – 24 December 1804) was a Denmark-Norway, Danish-Norwegian botanist, herbalist and zoologist. Biography Martin Vahl was born in Bergen, Norway and attended Bergen Cathedral School. He studied botany at ...

in his 1791 ''Symbolae Botanicae''. In 1806 Christiaan Persoon transferred it into '' Dilivaria'', but this was not accepted. Two subspecies are recognised, the autonym ''A. ebracteatus'' subsp. ''ebracteatus'', and ''A. ebracteatus'' subsp. ''ebarbatus'', described in 1986.

Distribution and habitat

Widely distributed in Southeast Asia, including China, India and Australia.

Medicinal uses

The leaves of ''Acanthus ebracteatus'', noted for their

antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...

properties, are used for making herbal tea in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

References

* * * http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1045.htm

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1021949 ebracteatus Lamiales of Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of Indo-China Flora of Malesia Flora of Papuasia Taxa named by Martin Vahl