Carduus carduelis, (L.) Gren.

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 : 228

30. C. carduelis (L.) Gren. , Billotia 1: 14 (1864)

( C. defloratus subsp. carduelis (L.) Gugler ).

Perennial up to 80 cm. Stem subglabrous or very sparsely hairy; wings up to 6 mm wide, triangular-ovate, with an apical spine up to 1 mm. Leaves oblanceolate or lanceolate, glabrous above, sparsely arachnoid-hairy with fine unicellular sinuate hairs beneath, with 6-8 pairs of lobes each with an apical spine up to 1 -5 mm. Capitula 15-30 mm in diameter, subglobose; peduncle up to 25 cm and 1 -5 mm in diameter, tomentulose; involucral bracts 1 -1-5 mm wide, imbricate, but the outer usually deflexed and curled in an S-shape, linear-subulate, glabrous, with the mid-vein obscure; inner bracts 14- 1| times as long as and twice as wide as the middle bracts, subulate, veinless. Corolla 13-15 mm. Achenes 3-4 mm, compressed, minutely verruculose; apical prominence sessile, cylindrical, 5-lobed; pappus 8-12 mm. Mountain meadows. • E. Alps and mountains of N. W. Jugoslavia.?A1 Au It Ju.