Echinops sphaerocephalus

Taxobox
name = "Echinops sphaerocephalus"

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image_width = 260px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Asterales
familia = Asteraceae
tribus = Cynareae
genus = "Echinops"
species = "E. sphaerocephalus"
binomial = "Echinops sphaerocephalus"
binomial_authority = L.

"Echinops sphaerocephalus" is a species of globe thistle which is known by the common name great globe thistle. This species is native to Eurasia but it lives on other continents where it was introduced, including North America where it is a widespread weed. This is a glandular, woolly perennial which approaches a maximum height of two meters. Its erect, branching gray stems bear the occasional sharply toothed, sharp-lobed pointed green leaf. Atop each stem is an almost perfectly spherical inflorescence up to 6 centimeters in diameter, packed with blue-gray disc florets. The fruit is a hairy cylindrical achene about 7 to 8 millimeters long.

External links

* [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?609,1063,1064 Jepson Manual Treatment]
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ECSP USDA Plants Profile]