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|image_caption=Acanthus mollis

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'''''Acanthus''''' is a [[genus]] of about 30 species of [[flowering plant]]s in the family [[Acanthaceae]], native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the [[Roman World]], with the highest species diversity in the [[Mediterranean Basin]] and [[Asia]]. Common names include '''Acanthus''' and '''Bear's breeches'''. The generic name is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word ακανθος (''acanthos''), meaning "thorny."<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=esMPU5DHEGgC&  |first=Umberto |last=Quattrocchi |title=CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: A-C |year=2000 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9780849326752 |page=23}}</ref>

'''''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.  

The genus comprises [[Herbaceous plant|herbaceous]] [[perennial plant]]s, rarely [[subshrub]]s, with spiny leaves and flower [[raceme|spikes]] bearing white or purplish flowers. Size varies from {{convert|0.4|to|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height.

 

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&nbsp;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>

[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/4*.html Book IV].

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