Carduus acicularis, Bertol.

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1976, Flora Europaea. Volume 4. Plantaginaceae to Compositae (and Rubiaceae), Cambridge University Press : 230

41. C. acicularis Bertol. , Ann. Stor. Nat. (Bologna) 1: 274 (1829)

( C. bicolor Vis. ).

Annual up to 70 cm. Stem arachnoidhairy; wings very narrow, dentate with teeth up to 4 mm wide, with an apical spine up to 2 mm. Leaves obovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, sparsely arachnoid-hairy above, arachnoid-tomentose beneath with straight unicellular and very few multicellular hairs, with 2-5 pairs of triangular-acute lobes, each with an apical spine 1-3 mm. Capitula 15-20 x 10-15 mm, oblong; peduncles up to 15 cm and 1 mm in diameter; involucral bracts imbricate but becoming erecto-patent, the outer subulate, the middle oblonglanceolate and 0-5-1 mm wide in the proximal |, contracted above into an apex 0-5 mm wide at its base, linear-subulate, with the mid-vein raised in the distal |; inner bracts | as long as the inner middle, 3-veined above. Corolla 10-12 mm. Achenes 3 -5-4- 5 mm, compressed, rugulose; apical prominence slender, sessile, entire; pappus 10-13 mm. Waste places. C. & E. Mediterranean region, S. Bulgaria. Bu Ga Gr It Ju Si Tu.