Carduus pycnocephalusL. Italian plumeless thistle

Carduus pycnocephalusL. - Italian plumeless thistle

Scientific Description:

Annual, 5−75 cm, very variable. Stem simple to sparsely paniculate above, undulate-winged with triangular, spinose and spinulose lobes. Cauline leaves pinnatilobed to pinnatipartite, lobes separated by U-shaped sinuses and usually 2−4-fid into broadly triangular lobules, weakly hairy above, canescent-tomentose beneath. Capitula clustered (2−5 together, subsessile, rarely solitary) at top of spinulose stems, or borne on naked peduncles up to 4 cm (late flowering specimens often have numerous sessile lateral capitula). Involucre oblong, 11−20 mm long, tomentose-arachnoid to glabrescent; phyllaries regularly imbricate, 30−45, adpressed to ± recurved, green or purplish, contracted or not in distal part, nerve long and prominent to short and obscure; inner subscarious, longer than median. Corollas actinomorphic, purple to pink, erect, slightly longer than involucre, lobes 4−5(−6) mm.

subsp. albidus (M.Bieb.) Kazmi

Involucre 12−16 mm long, arachnoid-tomentose; corollas 11−13 mm; leaf spines 1−3(−5) mm, weaker.

Flowering time: April−June.

Habitat: Mainly rocky places, fields and waste ground, Pinus brutia L. forest, s.l.−1450 m.

Reference:
Davis PH (1975). Carduus pycnocephalus L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 5: 435.

Public Description:

Carduus pycnocephalus subsp. albidus, known as “Italian plumeless thistle” or “Plymouth thistle”, is native to the mediterranean region in southern Europe, East Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, the Caucasus and the Indian Subcontinent. It is a annual plant with pink flowers, and grows up to 75 cm in length. The multiple stems have winged with spines. It blooms between April and June and is found in rocky places, fields, waste ground and forests. The Italian plumeless thistle is known as a noxious weed or invasive species.

References:

Anonymous (2017). https://en.wikipedia.org/Carduus_pynocephalus, Accessed date: 13.11.2017.

Arabacı T (2012). Carduus L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 122– 126.