Looking for something unusual in your garden? Here’s a beautiful plant with a catchy name — Spiny Bear’s Breeches (Acanthus spinosus).

“Acanthus” is from the Greek word for “thorn,” while “Bear’s Breeches” is a corruption of the medieval Latin branca ursina, “claw of a bear,” referring to its spiny bracts.

This native of the Mediterranean is found mostly in Portugal, northwest Africa and Croatia. It’s known to be one of the earliest cultivated garden plants. The Greeks used the lobed leaves as the pattern for the Corinthian order on columns.

Easily grown, it loves partial shade but can survive in the sun, dry air and average to rich soil. The clumps can survive for several decades.

Bear’s Breeches can have leaves up to three feet long and flower spikes that can reach five feet. The tubular flowers bloom in early summer and look similar to foxglove. They are creamy or white, with purple or pink edges, and bloom from the bottom of the stalk upward. The leaves are dark green, shiny and tipped with soft spines.

You’ll need some room for this plant as it can reach three feet wide and four feet tall before the flower spikes appear. My own experience was that it bloomed after two years.

The hardiness zone for this plant is listed as Zone 6 in some catalogs and Zone 5 and above in others. Butler is in Zone 5 and thus it might need some protection here. It’s recommended to mulch this plant for winter protection and I just let the fallen leaves do the job.

The plant is deer-resistant due to the spines on the plant. You can start this plant by division, by root cuttings or by transplanting the side shoots that come up. The only care that is needed is cutting off the spent flowers (watch for the spiny leaves).

However, some gardeners say to cut it down to the ground after the first frost kills the leaves; otherwise, the leaves get slimy and/or smelly.

Slugs are the only listed pest for this plant and dividing is recommended every three to five years. Another species (Acanthus mollis) is similar to Spiny Bear’s Breeches but prefers more sun. This plant may be hard to find in garden centers but an online search will give you an abundance of resources.

Maryellen Walter is a member of the Butler County Master Gardeners.