2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Acantholus thistle (lat. Carduus acanthoides), or Thistle thistle - herbaceous perennial plant of the genus
Thistle (Latin Carduus)included in the family
Astro (lat. Asteraceae), or Compositae (lat. Compositae) … Although all plants of the genus have protective sharp thorns on the leaves and flower envelope, this species stands out among them with a particularly abundant number of its sharp parts. This weed plant is an endangered species, and therefore in some places it is taken under the protection of humans, despite its weedy nature.
What's in your name
The Latin name of this species emphasizes the special armament of the plant with sharp thorns. After all, the generic name "Carduus" already speaks of the thorniness of the plant, and the specific epithet "acanthoides" further enhances this thorniness, comparing the shape of the thorny leaves of this species of Thistle with the thorny leaves of plants of the genus Acanthus, or Acanthus, whose Latin name "Acanthus" is based on the ancient Greek consonant with the word meaning "thorn". Such is the "spiny thorn".
Description
Perennial Acantholus thistle is supported by a fusiform root, which, like a borax, is screwed into the soil, overgrown with adventitious roots. From it, a furrowed rounded stem is born on the surface of the earth, the height of which, depending on environmental conditions, varies from sixty to seventy centimeters. The stem can be simple, erect, or somewhat branched in the upper part of the plant. The surface of the stem is covered with long, segmented hairs located on it in a scattered manner. The thorny leaves running down from the base to the very top give the plant a winged appearance.
The leaves are quite picturesque, leathery. The surface of the oblong-lanceolate leaf plate is bare. Light pubescence is observed only along the veins on the underside of the leaf plate. The length of the leaves varies from fifteen to twenty centimeters. The pinnate leaves consist of three to five lobes. The edge of each lobe is armed with spiny cilia, and the tip of the lobe ends with a yellowish long spine. The lower leaves have a short petiole, and higher along the stem they turn into sessile ones, reliably protecting the stem from uninvited guests. It is difficult to make friends with such a plant with unarmed hands. In the photo, the upper and lower surface of the sheet plate:
Thorny short peduncles are crowned with single inflorescences-baskets, characteristic of plants of the Astrov family. The inflorescences are not very large, spherical, up to two centimeters in diameter. The almost bare protective envelope of the flower is formed by leaves ending in a short spine. Inside the envelope are tubular bisexual flowers with lilac, violet, pink or red corolla, less often white. Quite picturesque flower inflorescences may well decorate a man-made flower garden.
The prickly appearance of the Acantholus thistle does not frighten insects at all, willingly treating themselves to sweet flower nectar, simultaneously pollinating the flowers. After pollination, the flowers turn into small achenes, the length of which can reach a maximum of three and a half millimeters, with a width of one millimeter. Like the acanthus of the other species of the genus Thistle, the acantholus acantholus achenes are equipped with a hairy tuft for travel in search of a new place of residence.
Usage
Due to its special thorniness and relative rarity, Acantholus thistle does not attract the attention of gardeners, flower growers and traditional healers, although it has all the qualities characteristic of other species of the genus.
In the wild, the plant can be found growing in garbage dumps arranged by people near their settlements, on the sides of roads, and sometimes, like a weed, the plant makes its way to man-made fields, taking away food from cultivated crops.
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Common Thistle
Common thistle is one of the plants of the family called Asteraceae or Compositae, in Latin the name of this plant will sound as follows: Carlina vulgaris L. As for the name of the common thistle family itself, in Latin it will be: Asteraceae Dumort.
Sow Thistle
Sow thistle is one of the plants of the family called Aster, in Latin the name of this plant will sound like this: Sonchus oleraceus L. As for the name of the family of the sow thistle, in Latin it will be like this: Asteraceae Dumort. (Compositae Giseke).
Field Sow Thistle
Field sow thistle is one of the plants of the family called Asteraceae, in Latin the name of this plant will sound as follows: Sonchus arvensis L. As for the name of the sow thistle family itself, in Latin it will be as follows: Asteraceae Dumort.
Thistle-leaved Yarrow
Thistle-leaved Yarrow is one of the plants in the legume family, in Latin the name of this plant will sound like this: Oxytropis myriophilla (Pall.) DC. As for the name of the family of the pungent yarrow, in Latin it will be like this: Fabaceae Lindl.
Milk Thistle
Milk thistle is one of the plants of the family called Asteraceae or Compositae, in Latin the name of this plant will sound like this: Silybum marianum (L). As for the name of the milk thistle family itself, then in Latin it will be as follows:
