Acanthus hungaricus

Acanthus hungaricus

Acanthus hungaricus is a fairly common species of Acanthus in Seattle.  It is more tolerant of dryness than Acanthus mollis, which is much more common.  Acanthus hungaricus has beautiful, holly-like foliage that is not at all spiny.  Flowers come in midsummer, with purple bracts forming hoods over white corollas, which line the stems in many tiers to present quite an impressive display of flowers.  The stems may reach 4 feet in height, but more usually 3 feet.  This plant spreads continually, but not very aggressively & will need to be divided when it begins to crowd its neighbors.  Acanthus hungaricus is a perennial plant for full sun in well drained soil.  It is native to Europe in Romania, the Balkans & Greece.  The common name for Acanthus is bear's breeches, in this case Hungarian bear's breeches.  I hear it called Acanthus more often.