Echinops exaltatus

Plants 40-150 cm. Stems simple or more commonly much branched, white tomentose, especially distally. Leaves: basal and proximal cauline leaves winged-petiolate, mid and distal cauline clasping; blades ovate to elliptic or obovate, margins 1-2-pinnately lobed, lobes lanceolate to triangular, spiny-dentate, spine-tipped, spines slender, 2-3 mm; abaxial faces white-tomentose, adaxial green, glabrous to sparsely strigose. Secondary heads 3.5-6 cm diam. Involucres 20-30 mm. Phyllaries eglandular, ciliate, apices slender, slightly recurved. Corollas white to pale blue, 8-15 mm, tubes 2-6 mm, lobes 5-6 mm. Cypselae 7-8 mm; pappi of ± connate, ciliate scales ± 1 mm. 2n = 30.

Flowering summer (Jun-Sep). Disturbed sites; 0-500 m; introduced; N.B., Ont., Que.; Wash.; Europe.

Echinops exaltatus sometimes escapes from cultivation.

Is also casual with us. It is much like E. sphaerocephalus, but lacks the glandular hairs, and the invol bracts are glabrous on the back.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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