Acanthus mollis

Here's a plant still happily green even with the wintry weather.  These are leaves of Acanthus mollis.  Notice the patch of snow in the picture. This snow had been on the ground for a couple of days. Acanthus mollis is native to the Mediterranean region and is thought to be the leaves depicted in the Corinthian order of classic architecture.  Maybe the sculptors of ancient times liked to use this plant as a model because it was green and available when they were working through the winter.

Link to Corinthian order:

Link to Acanthus mollis:

Link to Acanthus mollis: 

Picture taken December 1, 2011

Musa basjoo stumps in December

The Musa basjoo banana tree mentioned in the October post has been cut down for the winter.  Here is a view of the interesting patterns of the cross-section of the stems. The air temperature has been below freezing for a couple days and some snow remains on the ground.  I was interested in finding this stump to see if there was any sap getting exuded from the roots and then freezing but the ice on the stump could be from the fallen snow too.

Pictures taken December 1, 2011 at Purdue Horticulture Gardens.

Link to the previous post on this banana tree: