Flora-Fauna

Carduus collinus Waldst. & Kit.
(Descr. Icon. Pl. Hung. 3: 257; 1806–1812)

• Life-form & habit: Biennial or perennial herb, 50–100 cm tall; stems strongly branched, lower parts narrowly winged.

• Leaves: Pinnatifid or pinnatisect, lobes ovate with soft spines; upper surface green and hairy, lower surface whitish with cobwebby indumentum.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Terminal, solitary heads with purple florets. Involucral bracts narrowly lanceolate, non-reflexed, gradually tapering.

• Fruit: Cypsela with a white pappus 10–15 mm long.

• Phenology: Flowers from June to August.

• Habitat & elevation: Calcareous grasslands, open rocky slopes.

• Native range: Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Italy, Ukraine, Lebanon and Syria. (KEW)