Asteraceae

Carduus tenuiflorus

Common Names: Winged thistle.

Plant Form: Erect annual rosette herb. Size: 50-150 cm tall. Stem: Upright, widged with spiny wings and cobwebby appearance. Leaves: Lance shaped with rounded and wider end in rosette. With cobwebby hairs, particularly underneath. Flowers: Pinkish purple tubular cllustered flowerers in groups of 3-10, surrounded by green bracts and many spines. Fruit and Seeds: Single-seeded dry, dull greyish-brown and grooved. Egg-shaped and with a tuft of unbranched parachuting hairs. Habitat: Old gardens, pastures, coastal scrub, grasslands, open woodlands. Distinguishing Features: Distinguished from very similar Carduus pycnocephalus(also known as Slender thistle) by generally having more individual flowers in the heads, which also have more cobwebby appearance.