Prickly-thrift

Акантолимон

About 120 species mostly in Mediterranean and Central Asia, 90 in the FSU. All are attractive, spiny, cushion-forming plants, but only a few are in cultivation. All are sun lovers from Central Asia and the southern parts of the Caucasus, they require full sun on southern slopes or vertical rock walls and can actually thrive on bare rock. Some (A. albertii Regel, A. borodinii Krasn., A. diapensioides Boiss. and A. erythraeum Bunge) form large cushions to 2 m across, while others (A. compactum Korov., A. hedinii Ostenf., A. komarovii Czerniak. ex Lincz. and A. korovinii Czerniak.) extremely tight, tufted cushions. Yet even other species form open, lax cushions of sometimes no larger than 20 cm in diameter (A. alexandri Fed., A. margaritae Korov. ex Lincz., A. procumbens Czerniak., A. ruprechtii Bunge and A. virens Czerniak. ex Lincz.). All are well suited to the rock garden, these three species particularly so.

Limoniaceae, formerly Plumbaginaceae

Lower Taxa

• Acantholimon avenaceum Bunge
• Acantholimon glumaceum (Jaub. & Spach.) Boiss.
• Acantholimon pterostegium Bunge
• Acantholimon purpureum Korov.