Carduus pycnocephalus, 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 : 231

45. C. pycnocephalus L. , Sp. Pl. ed. 2, 1151 (1763).

Annual up to 80 cm. Stem arachnoid-hairy but greyish-tomentulose above; wings up to 5 mm wide, triangular, with an apical spine up to 5 mm. Leaves oblanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, sparsely hairy above, arachnoid-lanuginous beneath with mostly unicellular hairs, with 2-5 pairs of palmate lobes, each with an apical spine up to 12 mm. Capitula 15-20 x 7-13 mm, cylindrical, subsessile or on peduncles up to 10 cm and 2 mm in diameter, solitary or in clusters of 2-3; involucral bracts imbricate, arachnoid-hairy; inner bracts up to Ц times as long as the middle, faintly 3-veined in the distal |, not scarious at margin distally. Corolla 10-14 mm. Achenes 4-5 mm, compressed, smooth; apical prominence small, shortly stipitate, davate, entire; pappus 10-14 mm. 2л = 62-64. Waste places. S. & S.E. Europe', casual further north. Al BI Bu Co Cr Ga Gr Hs It Ju Rs (К, E) Sa Si Tu.

Throughout the range of this species there is much variation in the wings of the peduncles but none of this variation is correlated with other characters or with distribution. The following subspecies, based on other characters, may, however, be recognized.