Plants in the mainly tropical Acanthus Family (Acanthaceae) are annual or perennial herbs and shrubs with simple, opposite leaves and tubular, 4 or 5-lobed flowers with 2 to 4 stamens, 1 to 2 stigmas, and a long style. The fruit is capsular with two chambers, and it often opens explosively when mature so that the seed is scattered some distance away from the parent plant.

Listed below are some of the southeastern Arizona plants in this family.