You might have difficulty believing that prickly anthyllis or hedgehog broom is a member of the bean family until you see an image of its flowers. Erinacea anthyllis is native to stony slopes of Mediterranean France, Spain and northern Africa. When giving a tour, I always invite visitors to gently touch the viciously sharp spiny modified leaves. I can never resist the temptation to float my hand on the tips, since it's a bit of an odd tactile sensation.
Botany / photography resource link: Biodiversity of the Hengduan Mountains Region, China, a site hosted by the Harvard University Herbaria and originally assembled by Dr. Richard Ree. Rick spent a year in 2002-2003 at the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research as a post-doctoral researcher with the garden's director, Dr. Quentin Cronk.
I'd love to see the flower.
Nancy, click on the link that says flowers, then click on the thumbnailed image on that page.
Erinacea anthyllis - Z8, RHS Index of Garden Plants, Griffiths
When I do a tour I always tell people that it is very sharp. Of course there are always those that can't resist. I should use your tactic Daniel and say touch it but very gently. I remember quite vividly backing into it when I was weeding there as a student.
A couple of comments on plant hardiness zones. They are are entirely subject to the exact location and orientation of the garden in which the plants reside. While the RHS Dictionary claims Erinacea anthyllis is Zone 8, this is not to be taken as absolute, being meant as a guideline only. The plant shown is in the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden here at UBCBG, yet ours is a Zone 7a garden, based solely on the historic low temperature of -17c (about 0 F). Clearly this plant is hardier than stated. This is dependent on three local factors: 1) the plants' orientation, being southwest-facing, 2) planted on a hillside, providing cold air drainage, and
3) residing in very well-drained soil. Were it planted in a typical perennial border (falt ground, rich moisture retentive soil) with limited sun exposure, it would be very challenged to accept even a Zone 8 climate (min. -12.2c/10F).