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{{SPlantbox
| name = ''Acanthus mollis''
|familia=Acanthaceae
| common_names = Bear's Breeches
|genus=Acanthus
| growth_habit = <!--- tree, shrub, vine, etc -->
|species=mollis
| high = 39in
|common_name=Bear's Breeches
| wide = 39in
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
| origin = <!--- Mexico, S America, S Europe, garden, etc -->
|habit=herbaceous
| poisonous = <!--- indicate parts of plants which are known/thought to be poisonous -->
|habit_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
| lifespan = <!--- perennial, annual, etc -->
|Max ht box=7
| exposure = <!--- sun, part-sun, semi-shade, shade, indoors, bright filtered (you may list more than 1) -->
|Max ht metric=ft
| water = <!--- frequent, regular, drought tolerant, let dry then soak -->
|height_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
| features = <!--- flowers, fragrance, naturalizes, invasive -->
|Min wd box=40
| hardiness = <!--- frost sensitive, hardy, 40[[Fahrenheit|°F]] (5[[Celsius|°C]]), etc -->
|Min wd metric=in
| bloom = <!--- seasons which the plant blooms, if it is grown for it's flowers -->
|Max wd box=60
| usda_zones = <!--- eg. 8-11 -->
|Max wd metric=in
| sunset_zones = 4-24, 28-32
|width_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|lifespan=perennial
| image = Upload.png <!--- Freesia.jpg -->
|exposure=sun, part-sun
| image_width = 240px <!--- leave as 240px if horizontal orientation photo, or change to 180px if vertical -->
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|water=moderate, dry
|features=flowers, drought tolerant, ground cover
|flower_season=early summer, mid summer, late summer
|flower_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|flowers=blue, purple, white
|Temp Metric=°F
|min_zone=6
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|max_zone=10
|sunset_zones=4-24, 28-32
|image=2007-06-26Acanthus07.jpg
|image_width=180
}}
}}
'''''Acanthus mollis''''', commonly known as ''Bear's Breeches'', is a [[herbaceous]] [[perennial plant]] in the genus ''[[Acanthus (genus)|Acanthus]]'', native to the [[Mediterranean region]] from [[Portugal]] and northwest [[Africa]] east to [[Croatia]], and is one of the earliest cultivated species of garden plants.
It grows to 2 m tall, with basal clusters of deeply lobed and cut, shining dark green [[leaf|leaves]] up to 1 m long and 20 cm broad. The [[flower]]s are tubular, whitish, lilac or rose with spiny green or purplish [[bract]]s, and produced on stout spikes which grow up to 2.5 m (8 ft) above the leaves. It flowers in late spring or early summer. It grows in dry areas, and is tolerant of drought and shade. The plants are propagated from [[tubers]] and tend to form large, localized clumps which can survive for several decades. The leaves of this plant are generally considered by historians to have been the design inspiration for the [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] column capitals of Greco-Roman architecture.<ref>
Vitruvius. ''On Architecture''.
[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/4*.html Book IV].
</ref>
{{Inc|
Acanthus mollis, Linn. Lvs. 2x1 ft., cordate, sinuately pinnatifid, mostly radical: fls. summer; spikes loose, pubescent. —Also recommended as a window plant. Var. latifolius, Hort. (A. latifolius, Hort. A. lusitanicus, Hort.) is larger and hardier.
}}
==Cultivation==
==Cultivation==
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