The Acanthus plant (Acanthaceæ), also known by the common name of "Bear's Breech," is considered to be one of the finest foliage plants for the shrub border.
The acanthus appears for the first time in the arts in ancient Greece, where it was chosen for decorative purposes owing to the beauty of its leaves and its proliferation across the Greek islands.
Many of the examples of Acanthus leaves carved in the 4th and 5th centuries B.C.E. are extremely lifelike, whether it is of the soft or the spiky variety, showing the character, texture, and model of the leaf.
In Botany, Acanthus is both a common name and a genus of flowering plant in the Family Acanthaceae.
In Europe an Acanthus is a plant (also called Bear's breeches) of this genus native to the Mediterranean region and characterized by large spiny leaves and flower spikes bearing white or purplish flowers.
Apparently acanthus plant motifs appear extensively in Medieval, Renaissance artwork, particularly in sculpture and wood carving and in friezes.
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