{
  "release_id": "thrive-v1-9d751b6f6d1787853e7f8e31",
  "flora_id": 22,
  "display_name": "Acanthus ilicifolius",
  "scientific_name": "Acanthus ilicifolius",
  "document": {
    "schema_version": "flora-language-separated-v0.3",
    "language": "en",
    "id": 22,
    "taxonomy": {
      "original_scientific_name": "Acanthus ilicifolius",
      "accepted_name": "Acanthus ilicifolius L.",
      "family": "Acanthaceae",
      "genus": "Acanthus"
    },
    "display_name": "Acanthus ilicifolius",
    "family_display": "Acanthaceae",
    "genus_display": "Acanthus",
    "description": {
      "summary": "Narrowly defined Acanthus ilicifolius is recorded from mangroves around the Andaman Sea, India and Sri Lanka. A 2024 revision separated tetraploid material east of the Thai-Malay Peninsula as A. tetraploideus; Chinese records and physiological studies published under the former broad name require reassessment by material source.",
      "sections": [
        {
          "id": "s01",
          "title": "Overview",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s01-p01",
              "text": "The 2024 taxonomic revision narrowed the circumscription of Acanthus ilicifolius. Mangrove, physiological, and salinity records under the former broad name concern different materials whose identity cannot be established from the old name alone.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S8",
                "S9"
              ],
              "claim_type": "project_synthesis"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s02",
          "title": "Names and classification",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s02-p01",
              "text": "Feng et al. (2024) separated the eastern tetraploid lineage of the former broad A. ilicifolius as A. tetraploideus H. Feng & Y. L. Huang. Narrowly defined A. ilicifolius refers mainly to diploid populations west of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, including the Andaman region, India and Sri Lanka. The Chinese flora and older databases retain the broader name, so those records cannot be assigned to the current narrow range by name alone. The placement of xiamenensis material requires voucher review.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S8",
                "S9",
                "S11"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            },
            {
              "id": "s02-p02",
              "text": "The 2024 revision separated the eastern tetraploid lineage of broad A. ilicifolius as A. tetraploideus; narrow A. ilicifolius is diploid and western. Ecological and experimental records are interpreted by the material names and localities given in their sources.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S8",
                "S9",
                "S11"
              ],
              "claim_type": "project_synthesis"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s03",
          "title": "Morphology and identification",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s03-p01",
              "text": "A mangrove shrub with relatively thick, spiny-toothed leaves, bilaterally symmetrical flowers with colored bands, and capsule fruit. The former broad concept included the eastern tetraploid lineage now treated as A. tetraploideus. Identification under the narrowed A. ilicifolius concept should consider distribution, morphology, and the taxonomic revision rather than an older database name alone.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S8",
                "S9",
                "S10"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s04",
          "title": "Distribution, habitat and phenology",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s04-p01",
              "text": "Feng et al.'s 2024 field-sampling table records the narrowed A. ilicifolius in natural mangroves at Phuket, Kerala, Katka Sundarban, and Chilaw. Ragavan et al. (2015) independently documented flowering and fruiting plants in Andaman–Nicobar mangroves near the landward high-tide zone and in the understory, with Shoal Bay Creek vouchers PBL30965 and PBL30966. The large flowers, dark corolla bands, and western-range locality are consistent with the narrowed concept, but the vouchers were not re-examined for ploidy.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S8",
                "S9",
                "S11"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            },
            {
              "id": "s04-p02",
              "text": "Ragavan et al. report flowering in February–March and fruiting in April–May for Andaman and Nicobar populations; these are local observations.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S9",
                "S11"
              ],
              "claim_type": "evidence_gap"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s05",
          "title": "Salinity in natural habitats",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s05-p01",
              "text": "Sampling sites assigned to narrowly defined A. ilicifolius by Feng et al. (2024) fall within its western diploid range. East Asian records under the former broad name require voucher review before they can inform this species’ ecology. The available natural records describe mangrove habitat but do not give soil salinity measured alongside the plants.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S8",
                "S9"
              ],
              "claim_type": "project_synthesis"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s06",
          "title": "Salinity studies",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s06-p01",
              "text": "Healthy 20–30 cm stem cuttings were collected in Kadalundi Vallikkunnu Community Reserve, Kerala, India, treated with 15 μM IBA for 2 h to induce rooting, then grown for 35 days in half-strength modified Hoagland solution in a greenhouse until two pairs of new leaves had developed. They were then exposed hydroponically to 0, 200, 400, or 600 mM NaCl for 15 days. Antioxidant responses were more pronounced at 400 mM; at 600 mM, antioxidant-enzyme activity declined over time while antioxidant molecules and MDA accumulated. The study measured physiological variables, not sustained growth or reproduction. The material was reported under the broad name used before the 2024 split, with no voucher or ploidy reassessment.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S3"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            },
            {
              "id": "s06-p02",
              "text": "An accessible article abstract reports biomass at twice the control at soil ECe of 8.30 dS/m. Osmotic potential was unchanged through ECe 13.20 dS/m and increased above that level. The abstract does not specify salt composition, plant provenance, treatment duration, cultivation method, or how ECe was measured; it uses the broad A. ilicifolius name from before the 2024 split.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S2"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            },
            {
              "id": "s06-p03",
              "text": "The GRHC mangrove-soil entry reports soil salinity as “>0.6%” but gives no percentage basis, measurement method, or specific site. The entry uses the broad A. ilicifolius name from before the 2024 split.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S7"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            },
            {
              "id": "s06-p04",
              "text": "CNHP_1320 lists 500 mM in a field labelled “seawater salinity” and gives a separate database value of 400 mM. The entry cites no underlying experiment or treatment conditions, and the two fields are not verified measurements from the same assay.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S5"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s07",
          "title": "Reported mechanisms and ecological adaptations",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s07-p01",
              "text": "The short NaCl hydroponic experiment measured antioxidant enzymes, MDA, antioxidants, and osmotic responses, but not sustained growth. Older soil-ECe work used a different salt system and was published under the broader taxonomic concept.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S2",
                "S3",
                "S9",
                "S10"
              ],
              "claim_type": "project_synthesis"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s08",
          "title": "Conclusions and evidence gaps",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s08-p01",
              "text": "Narrowly defined A. ilicifolius is recorded from western diploid mangrove populations; East Asian material published under the former broad name cannot be mapped to the current range without review. The short-term NaCl study measured antioxidant and osmotic variables, not sustained growth. Older soil-ECe data, the 500 mM “seawater” field and duplicate GRHC entries each have methodological or taxonomic limitations.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S2",
                "S3",
                "S4",
                "S5",
                "S7",
                "S8"
              ],
              "claim_type": "project_synthesis"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    "tolerance_evidence": [
      {
        "id": "M01",
        "source_ids": [
          "S3"
        ],
        "description": {
          "evidence_type": "Fifteen-day hydroponic NaCl physiology experiment",
          "material": "Material came from the mangroves of Kadalundi Vallikkunnu Community Reserve, Kerala, India: uniform, healthy 20–30 cm stem cuttings were treated with 15 μM indole butyric acid for 2 h to induce rooting, then transferred to half-strength modified Hoagland solution.",
          "salt_metric": "NaCl",
          "value_and_unit": "0, 200, 400, and 600 mM NaCl",
          "medium_and_exposure": "Rooted cuttings were pre-grown in half-strength modified Hoagland solution in a greenhouse for 35 days, until two pairs of new leaves had developed, before hydroponic NaCl exposure. The authors did not report voucher or ploidy reassessment under the 2024 taxonomic revision.",
          "life_stage": "Plants grown from rooted stem cuttings and pre-grown for 35 days to two pairs of new leaves",
          "duration": "15 days",
          "endpoint": "Antioxidant enzymes, MDA, antioxidants, and osmotic adjustment",
          "result": "Antioxidant responses were more pronounced at 400 mM; at 600 mM, antioxidant-enzyme activity declined while antioxidant molecules and MDA accumulated as exposure continued. PPO activity and ascorbate content were lower than the control in all treatments. No sustained growth or reproduction endpoint was measured; the eHALOPH-listed 400 mM is not a growth threshold.",
          "limitations": "This was a short hydroponic physiology test; the authors’ phrase “400 mM tolerance” is not treated as a growth threshold. The study used the former broad A. ilicifolius concept, with no re-identification under Feng et al. 2024."
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "M02",
        "source_ids": [
          "S2"
        ],
        "description": {
          "evidence_type": "Abstract-reported biomass and osmotic-potential observations across soil salinity expressed as ECe",
          "material": "A. ilicifolius as named in the abstract; material details and provenance are not reported in the accessible abstract",
          "salt_metric": "Soil salinity; composition not stated in the accessible abstract",
          "value_and_unit": "ECe 8.30 dS/m; osmotic potential unchanged through ECe 13.20 dS/m and increased above it",
          "medium_and_exposure": "The abstract reports soil-salinity changes expressed as ECe, but does not specify how salinity was applied, the cultivation setup, or how ECe was measured",
          "life_stage": "Not specified in the accessible abstract",
          "duration": "Not reported in the accessible abstract",
          "endpoint": "Biomass and osmotic potential",
          "result": "At moderate salinity (ECe 8.30 dS/m), biomass was exactly double the control; osmotic potential did not change up to ECe 13.20 dS/m and then showed a definite increase",
          "limitations": "ECe is electrical conductivity of a saturated soil extract. The abstract does not specify salt composition, material source, cultivation or treatment duration; the study used the broad A. ilicifolius name predating the 2024 split."
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "M03",
        "source_ids": [
          "S7"
        ],
        "description": {
          "evidence_type": "GRHC secondary mangrove-soil salinity field",
          "material": "Eastern-coast A. ilicifolius species-level entry; former broad concept",
          "salt_metric": "Soil salinity; salt identity unspecified",
          "value_and_unit": ">0.6% soil salinity (basis and method unspecified)",
          "medium_and_exposure": "Mangrove soil described in the GRHC entry",
          "life_stage": "Habitat/adult status not specified",
          "duration": "Unspecified",
          "endpoint": "Page soil-salinity field",
          "result": "The platform reports a value above 0.6% without a measurement method; it cannot be converted to ECe, PSU, or mM.",
          "limitations": "GRHC repeats the same mangrove description and retains the name from before the taxonomic split; the >0.6% value has no defined salt basis or method."
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "M04",
        "source_ids": [
          "S5"
        ],
        "description": {
          "evidence_type": "China Halophyte Catalogue field labelled “seawater salinity”",
          "material": "CNHP_1320 A. ilicifolius entry",
          "salt_metric": "Unspecified",
          "value_and_unit": "500 mM (catalogue field labelled “seawater salinity”)",
          "medium_and_exposure": "Database-transcribed field",
          "life_stage": "Unspecified",
          "duration": "Unspecified",
          "endpoint": "Catalogue maximum-salinity field",
          "result": "The catalogue lists 500 mM as “seawater salinity” and a separate 400 mM database value; the former has a questionable unit and is not a measured plant response or confirmed threshold.",
          "limitations": "Source was not verified. This is not a traceable NaCl-molarity threshold."
        }
      }
    ],
    "database_records": [
      {
        "name_original": "ehaloph",
        "display_name": "eHALOPH",
        "record_id": "12115",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "support_scope": "The species-level eHALOPH record uses the broad A. ilicifolius concept, labels it a hydrohalophyte, notes salt glands and coastal habitat, and lists max_salinity=400 mM. The value links to Shackira & Puthur (2016), a 15-day NaCl physiology study; mangrove ecology comes from separate independent surveys. The 400 mM value is a short-term physiological treatment without an established sustained-growth threshold. The old broad name encompasses different taxa after the 2024 split, and the current identity of East Asian records has not been established through material re-identification.",
        "source_ids": [
          "S2",
          "S3",
          "S4"
        ]
      },
      {
        "name_original": "china_halophyte_catalog",
        "display_name": "China Halophyte Catalog",
        "record_id": "CNHP_1320",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "support_scope": "The catalogue covers the broad A. ilicifolius name and does not separate infraspecific material. It describes beach/mangrove habitat and salt-excreting ecology, and lists both 500 mM ‘seawater salinity’ and 400 mM. Its notes trace 400 mM to a database field and the 2016 physiology study; the 500 mM seawater unit has no verifiable original basis. The 400 mM value is not a sustained-growth threshold. The old broad name encompasses different taxa after the 2024 split; the current identity of East Asian records remains unresolved without material re-identification.",
        "source_ids": [
          "S3",
          "S5"
        ]
      },
      {
        "name_original": "mangrovedb",
        "display_name": "MangroveDB",
        "record_id": "mangrovedb:Acanthus_ilicifolius",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "support_scope": "MangroveDB classifies the species as a mangrove but gives no salinity or growth threshold. The entry provides ecological classification; its old broad name encompasses different taxa after the 2024 split, and the current identity of East Asian records remains unresolved without material re-identification.",
        "source_ids": [
          "S6"
        ]
      },
      {
        "name_original": "sdnu_grhc",
        "display_name": "SDNU GRHC",
        "record_id": "GRHC_H_2079; GRHC_E_1332; GRHC_H_2082; GRHC_P_2569",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "support_scope": "SDNU GRHC record H_2079 identifies A. ilicifolius; E_1332 repeats its economic-use record, while H_2082/P_2569 are entries for var. xiamenensis. The species-level passage describes beach mangroves and soil salt above 0.6%, without defining the percentage basis or measurement method. The variety is a taxonomically disputed infraspecific unit linked to the species under the broader Flora of China concept, and does not represent all species-level material. H/E list views reuse descriptions within the same platform source chain. The platform uses the old broad name, and the current identity of East Asian records after the 2024 split remains unresolved without material re-identification.",
        "source_ids": [
          "S7"
        ]
      },
      {
        "name_original": "floraveg",
        "display_name": "FloraVeg.EU",
        "record_id": "unmatched row 22",
        "verification_level": "local_original",
        "support_scope": "FloraVeg.EU has no matched taxon, includes the alias Acanthus xiamenensis, and records no saline/brackish association. An unmatched European record has little relevance to a Southeast Asian mangrove species.",
        "source_ids": [
          "S12"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "sources": [
      {
        "id": "S1",
        "citation_original": "Flora of China 19, Acanthus ilicifolius L.",
        "url": "https://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200022448",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "authoritative_flora",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "checked_at": "2026-09-29"
      },
      {
        "id": "S2",
        "citation_original": "Bal AR, Dutt SK. 1987. Salt tolerance mechanism in Acanthus ilicifolius L. Indian Journal of Plant Physiology 30(2):170–175.",
        "url": "https://indianjournals.com/article/ijpp-30o-2-006",
        "additional_urls": [
          "https://ehaloph.uc.pt/reference_view/6351"
        ],
        "source_kind": "primary_experiment",
        "verification_level": "abstract",
        "checked_at": "2026-10-03"
      },
      {
        "id": "S3",
        "citation_original": "Shackira & Puthur. 2016. Antioxidant defence mechanism operational in a mangrove – Acanthus ilicifolius L. subjected to NaCl stress",
        "url": "https://www.journalijar.com/uploads/941_IJAR-9387.pdf",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "primary_experiment",
        "verification_level": "full_text",
        "checked_at": "2026-10-03"
      },
      {
        "id": "S4",
        "citation_original": "eHALOPH species record 12115",
        "url": "https://ehaloph.uc.pt/showplant/12115",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "database",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "checked_at": "2026-09-29"
      },
      {
        "id": "S5",
        "citation_original": "中国盐生植物名录 CNHP_1320",
        "url": "https://www.biodiversity-science.net/fileup/1005-0094/DATA/2025030.zip",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "database",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "checked_at": "2026-09-29"
      },
      {
        "id": "S6",
        "citation_original": "MangroveDB species record Acanthus ilicifolius",
        "url": "https://jasonxu.shinyapps.io/MangroveDB/",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "database",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "checked_at": "2026-09-29"
      },
      {
        "id": "S7",
        "citation_original": "SDNU GRHC A. ilicifolius records GRHC_H_2079 and GRHC_E_1332; related xiamenensis GRHC_H_2082/GRHC_P_2569",
        "url": "http://www.grhc.sdnu.edu.cn/info/1066/2079.htm",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "database",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "checked_at": "2026-09-29"
      },
      {
        "id": "S8",
        "citation_original": "Feng H, Banerjee AK, Guo W, Yuan Y, Duan F, Ng WL, Zhao X, Liu Y, Li C, Liu Y, Li L, Huang Y. 2024. Origin and evolution of a new tetraploid mangrove species in an intertidal zone. Plant Diversity 46(4):476–490. DOI:10.1016/j.pld.2024.04.007",
        "url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11390703/",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "primary_field",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "checked_at": "2026-09-29"
      },
      {
        "id": "S9",
        "citation_original": "Ragavan P, Saxena A, Mohan PM, Jayaraj RSC, Ravichandran K. 2015. Taxonomy and distribution of species of the genus Acanthus (Acanthaceae) in mangroves of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Biodiversitas 16(2):225–237. DOI:10.13057/biodiv/d160218",
        "url": "https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d160218",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "primary_field",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "checked_at": "2026-09-29"
      },
      {
        "id": "S10",
        "citation_original": "Plants of the World Online. Acanthus tetraploideus H.Feng & Y.L.Huang, accepted taxon 77316490-1.",
        "url": "https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/77316490-1",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "taxonomy",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "checked_at": "2026-09-29"
      },
      {
        "id": "S11",
        "citation_original": "Plants of the World Online (POWO), Kew Science. Acanthus ilicifolius L.",
        "url": "https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:44873-1",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "taxonomic_authority",
        "verification_level": "authority_record",
        "checked_at": "2026-10-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "S12",
        "citation_original": "FloraVeg.EU / Chytrý et al. (2020), EUNIS-ESy characteristic-species combinations, version 2021-06-01. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.4812736.",
        "url": "https://files.ibot.cas.cz/cevs/downloads/floraveg/Characteristic-species-combinations-EUNIS-habitats-2021-06-01.xlsx",
        "additional_urls": [
          "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4812736"
        ],
        "source_kind": "database",
        "verification_level": "local_original",
        "checked_at": "2026-10-02"
      }
    ]
  }
}