Image of Bear's Breeches

Description:

Slo.: akant, dea - syn.: Acanthus longifolius Poir. - Habitat: mountain ravine, north aspect, mostly in shade, skeletal ground, elevation 165 m (540 feet); average precipitations about 1.000 mm/year, average temperature about 10-12 deg C, Mediterranean phytogeographical region. Comment: Acanthus mollis is a famous plant. Ancient Greek architects admired the plant and used the shape of their beautiful leaves as a motive in design of heads of the famous Corinthian columns, which are a key element in Greek ancient architecture admired for millennia.Indeed the attractive plant with large pinnately-lobed ground leaves and stout, over 1 m tall inflorescences, with individual whitish-pink-violet flowers of unusual shape up to 5 cm long and spiny bracts, makes a strong impression. No wonder; it is often used in horticulture in spite of the fact that is can be also an unpleasantly invasive species. It grows in the whole Mediterranean region. Ref.:(1) M. Blamey, C. Grey-Wilson, Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean, A & C Black, London (2005), p 420.(2) V. Papiomytoglou, Wildblumen aus Griechenland, Mediterraneo Editions, 2006, p18.(3) I. Schnfelder, P. Schnfelder, Kosmos Atlas Mittelmeer- und Kanarenflora, Kosmos, (2002), p 200.