Plural: acanthuses

ETYM Latin, from Greek akanthos. Related to Acantha.
Any plant of the genus Acanthus having large spiny leaves and spikes or white or purplish flowers; native to Mediterranean region but widely cultivated.
Kind of prickly herbaceous plant, Bear's Breeches; Architecture, leaf decoration used on Corinthian capital.
Any herbaceous plant of the genus Acanthus with handsome lobed leaves. Twenty species are found in the Mediterranean region and Old World tropics, including bear’s breech A. mollis, whose leaves were used as a motif in classical architecture, especially on Corinthian columns.