This
shrub grows up to tall, has stems and deeply lobed, spine-tipped leaves . Its
inflorescences are long
cymes with densely hairy, spine-tipped
bracts. Flowers have a green
calyx with purple tips, a white
corolla tube with a
pinkish-
mauve limb , and
filaments up to long. It grows in dry
montane forest glades at . A closely related species is
Acanthus polystachius, which can be distinguished by several key
morphological features. It has a much longer and silkier covering of hairs (
indumentum) on the bracts and calyx than
A. polystachius. Its bracts and
sepal are longer than those found in
A. polystachius. Another distinguishing feature is the thickened rim of the corolla, which is absent or less developed in
A. polystachius. ==References==