Asteraceae

Onopordum tauricum

Common Names: Taurian thistle

Plant Form: Erect biennial herb. Size: Up to 2 m tall. Stem: With spiny wings to 15 mm wide and sparse glandular and simple hairs. Leaves: Up to 25 cm long in rosette, alternate and smaller on stem, deeply divided with triangular lobes, armed with yellowish spines, sparsely glandular-hairy. Flowers: Thistle-like flowerheads 5-7 cm across, with green to purplish bracts and purple florets. Fruit and Seeds: 5-6 mm long, 4-ribbed, shiny, brown to grey, with off-white parachuting hairs 8-10 mm long. Habitat: Pastures, roadsides, waste grounds, disturbed areas. Distinguishing Features: Mixed glandular and simple hairs, whereas the other erect species of Cotton thistle (Onopordum species) have only white-woolly hairs.