Acanthus, commonly known as Bear's Breeches, is a clump-forming perennial grown as much for its attractive foliage as it is for its architecturally bold, tall, prickly flower spikes, with cream-white flowers and reddish-to-purple bracts. Acanthus is a hardy perennial. In the wild it is found growing on hot, dry hillsides in Greece, Turkey and North-West Africa. However, it is quite tolerant of shade in a garden situation. Plants grow into stout clumps of glossy, dark green leaves, which can be deeply cut or toothed. They can be 100cm long, and up to 25cm wide. Plants can make excellent groundcover colonies. Acanthus leaves have a classical appearance and were the source of the Corinthian leaf motif developed and used as a decoration in ancient Greek and Roman architecture and art.