Acanthus mollis (Bear’s breech)

Acanthus mollis L.

Bear’s breech

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Lamiales	Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary
Family	Acanthaceae	Acanthus family, of tropical herbs and shrubs
Genus	Acanthus	Means "thorny"
Species	mollis	Means “smooth,” for the leaves

About plant names...

Bear’s Breech is native to the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the north, west, and south.

Identification: This plant reaches 6' (1.8 m) in height. It has dark, shiny, deeply divided leaves, as much as 3' (91 cm) long and 12" (30 cm) wide. The leaf shape is the most distinctive characteristic of this species. The flowers are lilac-colored or white, on long stalks which grow far above the leaf clusters.

Photo by Eugene Zelenko, from the Villa Montalvo Botanical Garden in Saratoga, CA, cropped to emphasize leaf shape.

Photo by Marc Ryckaert.

Online References:

Acanthus mollis at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Acanthus mollis on Wikipedia

Acanthus mollis on Wikimedia Commons

Acanthus mollis on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Acanthus mollis on Discover Life

Acanthus mollis description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 27 Sep 2020.

2/24/2010 · San Diego (Quail) Botanic Garden, Encinitas, California
≈ 6 × 4' (1.8 × 1.2 m)

Range:

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