The Collaborative International Dictionary
Acanthus \A*can"thus\, n.; pl. E. Acanthuses, L. Acanthi.
(Bot.) A genus of herbaceous prickly plants, found in the south of Europe, Asia Minor, and India; bear's-breech.
(Arch.) An ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of the acanthus ( Acanthus spinosus); -- used in the capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders. [1913 Webster] ||
Wikipedia
Acanthus spinosus, the spiny bear's breech, is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae, native to southern Europe, from Italy to western Turkey. It is an herbaceous perennial growing to tall by wide. The deeply cut leaves have spiny margins, and in early summer it bears erect, long racemes of white flowers with maroon bracts.
It is thought that both A. spinosus and its close relative A. mollis were introduced to Britain as ornamental and herbal plants from the Mediterranean in Roman times. It has been intermittently cultivated ever since, and is now a regular feature of the herbaceous border. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Image:Acanthus spinosus opening.jpg|Young plant Image:Acanthus spinosus leaf.jpg|Leaf