Acanthus

Genus of plants, the typical one of the family Acanth ace a. The species of A. have large lobed and sinuate leaves. A. moll is of southern Europe and cultivated in Britain has mucilaginous properties and may be used as a substitute for marshmallow. A. spinosus , indigenous to Greece and the islands of the Grecian archipelago, supplied archipelago, supplied the motive for the decoration of the Corinthian capital. The legend related by Vitunius is that the sight of a basket overgrown with the musical expre ion is made to conform to the sense of the words. Ecclesiastical accents are simple melodic formulas used in reciting portions of the church liturgy.