Welted Thistle

(Carduus crispus L.) Fam:. Asteraceae

Danmark Kruset Tidsel, Estland Kähar karuohakas, Finland Kyläkarhiainen, HollandKruldistel, Lettland Cirtainais dzelksnins, Litauien Garbiniuotasis dagys, Norge Krusetistel, Polen Oset kędzierzawy, Ryssland Чертополох курчавый, Tyskland Krause Distel, Storbrittanien Krustistel



Cotyledons 7 – 15 mm long and 4 – 10 mm broad, short stalk, oval – egg-shaped, hairless. True leaves 10-40 cm long, elliptic, dull green above, deeply pinnatifid, softly prickly marginally, often coverd with loose cottony hairs below. Stems up to 150 cm, stout, branched, densely covered with prickly wings. Flower heads, globular, ca 3 cm in diameter, crowded in clusters at the end of branches. All florets tubular, purple and bisexual. Reproduces only by seeds. Sites meadows and pastures, often badly prepared arable land, roadsides and ruderals. Biennial.