WildBristol.uk - Discovering Wildlife in Bristol

Stace 4:

Acanthus mollis L. - Bear's-breach.

Stems to 1m, erect, glabrous atleast above; basal leaves ≤1m, deeply pinnately lobed with acutely toothed but not spiny lobes, glabrous; corolla 3.5-5cm, white with purple veins; bracts glabrous, often purplish; (2n=56, 80). Neophyte-naturalised; grown in gardens and long naturalised in waste places, roadsides, railway banks and scrub; scattered in British Isles North to Central Scotland, especially South West England; West & Central Mediterranean.