Common name: Illyrian Thistle
Onopordum illyricum L. APNI* Synonyms: Onopordon illyricum L. APNI*
Description: Annual or biennial to 1.5 m high; stems woolly with continuous spiny wings to 10 mm wide.
Basal leaves oblanceolate to elliptic, to 55 cm long, to 15 cm wide, deeply pinnatisect, with numerous spines to 10 mm long, base decurrent on stem, white- or grey-tomentose.
Heads few in a terminal corymb, pedunculate; involucral bracts lanceolate to 3 cm long, with a short apical spine, outer bracts cobwebby and recurved, inner bracts glabrous, erect. Florets purple.
Achenes compressed-obovoid, 4–5 mm long; pappus bristles c. 1 cm long, plumose.
Flowering: December–February
Distribution and occurrence: Weed of pastures, roadsides and wasteland, south from Quirindi area. Native of Eur. & W Asia.
NSW subdivisions: *SC, *ST, *NWS, *CWS, *SWS
Other Australian states: *Vic. *S.A.
A declared noxious weed in many shires.
Text by L. Murray
Taxon concept:
| N.S.W. occurrences are: subsp. illyricum |
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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