Description
Acanthus mollis, commonly known as bear’s breeches, is a clump-forming perennial that is grown as much for its attractive foliage as for its architecturally bold flower spikes. It is native to the Mediterranean region. Creamy white (sometimes pink) snapdragon-like flowers, each hooded and subtended by spiny reddish-purple bracts, bloom in late spring to midsummer in vertical rows on substantial flower spikes that rise well above the foliage mound to 3-5′ tall. Deeply lobed, soft-spiny, glossy, dark green leaves (to 2? long) form a mound of basal foliage. Foliage is mostly evergreen in warm winter climates, but plants lose their leaves when winter temperatures dip below 20 degrees F. (Courtesy of Missouri Botanical Gardens Plant Finder)
