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 Plant Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | | | |
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Origin:
Introduced
Life Cycle:
Biennial
General Desc:
Biennial with prickly, winged stems; rosette leaves elliptic, coarsely toothed; stem leaves deeply lobed, taper to a point, minutely hairy above, densely matted below, prickles stout; flower heads 1 or few, at ends of short, prickly-winged branches.
Identification notes: Biennial, taprooted; 1 to many erect or ascending, spiny, winged stems, wings almost the full length of distance between leaves; leaf blades long, lance-shaped, very spiny; purple flowers develop at the apex and have narrow spiny, yellow-tipped bracts.
Height:
2 to 4 feet
Habitat Description: Invasive of disturbed sites, pastures, meadows, forest openings, roadsides.
Plant Communities:
Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest, Riparian, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 5000 - 7000 feet
Color:
Purple, rarely white
Shape:
Daisy or dandelion-like not in clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Aug - Oct
Description:
The purple flower heads are 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter and 1 to 2 inches long with narrow, spine-tipped bracts in 10 to 12 overlapping series; bracts not sticky on their outer surface.
Leaf Color:
Green above, gray below
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Pinnatifid
Leaf Margin:
Lobed
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and alternate
Leaves Clasp:
Y
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
Y
Leaf Description:
Leaves are 3 to 12 inches long, lance-shaped, coarsely lobed and covered in sharp spines.
Fruit Color: Light brown with dark streaks
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: Seed-like fruit, about 1/5 inch long, elongated and tipped with numerous bristles.
Seed Notes: Flower heads produce hundreds of seeds.
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