Carduus crispus, L.

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1976, Flora Europaea. Volume 4. Plantaginaceae to Compositae (and Rubiaceae), Cambridge University Press : 225

18. C. crispus L. , Sp. Pl. 821 (1753).

Biennial up to 125 cm. Stem sparsely arachnoid-hairy; wings up to 6 mm wide, triangular, with an apical spinule up to 3 mm. Leaves lanceolate to oblanceolate, glabrescent above, with scattered short, multicellular, sinuate hairs and very sparse unicellular, arachnoid hairs and glabrescent beneath, lobed or crenate-dentate. Capitula 15-25 mm in diameter, subglobose, usually in clusters of 2-4 on narrowly winged peduncles up to 8 cm and 1 - 5 mm in diameter; involucral bracts imbricate or the outer and middle slightly recurved at apex, the inner larger, the outer and middle up to 1 -2 mm wide at the base, linear-subulate, verruculose in the proximal i, arachnoid-ciliate, with the mid-vein raised in the distal i; inner bracts faintly 3-veined in the distal |. Corolla 12-15 mm. Achenes 3-4 mm, swollen, almost smooth; apical prominence small, sessile, sinuately lobed; pappus 8-12 mm. Roadsides, waste places and streamsides. Europe, except the islands and parts of the south. Au Be Bu Cz Da Fe Ga Ge He Ho Hs Hu It Ju No Po Rm Rs (N, B, C, W, K, E) Su.