Scotch Thistle
Onopordum illyricum Fr: Pêt d'âne d'Illyrie
A tall stout biennial thistle with erect, spiny stem, branched above.
Flowers. June-July
Flower. The flowerheads are up to 60 mm across, with a tuft of purple florets. The stiff bracts surrounding the flowerheads narrow to spines, but remain below and narrower that the flowerheads [compared to the Milk Thistle where the long bract spines extend well beyond the flower-heads].
Leaves. Stalkless narrow leaves with deep spine-tipped lobes; up to 15 cm long.
Habitat. Waste ground, roadsides and field edges, olive groves, open woodland.
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