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 Flower head Watson woodsSue Smith |  Flower head Watson woodsSue Smith |  Leaves Watson woodsSue Smith |  Plant - summer Watson woodsSue Smith | | |
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Origin:
Introduced
Life Cycle:
Biennial
General Desc:
Biennial plant which produces a rosette of basal, wrinkled leaves the first year. The second year it produces long, branched stems with long narrow leaves and spiny flower heads.
Identification notes: Plants, 20 to 80 inches tall. Stems erect, stout, grooved, angled, prickly on the angles, becoming more so upwards. Receptacle flower bract ending in a straight, more or less flexible spine; whorl of bracts generally erect or upcurved. Flowers 4-parted.
Height:
To 6-1/2 feet
Habitat Description: Roadsides, pastures, fields, grassy hillsides and moist low sites, disturbed habitats.
Plant Communities:
Disturbed Areas
Elevation: Below 5800 feet
Color:
Light purple or lavender
Shape:
Irregular in elongated clusters
Tubular:
Y
Flowering Period:
Jul - Oct
Description:
Flowers are to 1/16 inch wide, 1/2 inch long, clustered on thistle-like cones, surrounded by short, spiny bracts and numerous, very long, upward-pointing spiny bracts with straight tips. The cluster is up to 4 inches long and 2 inches wide.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Narrow
Leaf Margin:
Toothed
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and opposite
Leaves Clasp:
Y
Hairs:
No
Spines:
Y
Leaf Description:
Initially produces a basal rosette of wrinkled, toothed leaves. The second year, a long spiny stem produces leaves with a row of spines on each side of a white midvein. These lance-shaped leaves are up to 10 inches long, shorter near the top of the stem.
Fruit Color: Light brown
Fruit Type: Achene
Fruit Notes: A dry achene, containing 1 seed, 4-angled, hairy.
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