Cirsium acaule

Cirsium acaule
Cirsium acaule/acaulon (Dwarf Thistle)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Subfamily:	Carduoideae
Tribe:	Cynareae
Genus:	Cirsium
Species:	C. acaule

Cirsium acaule or acaulon has the English name Dwarf Thistle. It can be found in various parts of England, and France to Denmark. It is found on short, calcerous grasslands.

Description

It is a perennial herb. The leaves are a spreading rosette, spiny, 10 to 15 cm long. They are more or less hairy above, but more or less hairy underneath.

There is usually only one flower head, although there can sometimes be 2 or 3. Usually it is not stalked from the leaf rosette. The flower is 3 to 4 cm long, the florets are red/purple. They flower from June to September. ^[1]

References

1. ^ Rose, Francis (1981). The Wild Flower Key. Frederick Warne & Co. pp. 382–383. ISBN 0-7232-2419-6.