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Carduus argentatus

Carduus argentatus
Photo: Gideon Pisanty (Gidip) גדעון פיזנטי, CC BY 3.0

Carduus argentatus, the silver thistle, is a spiny annual herb in the daisy family native to the Mediterranean, Middle East and deserts of Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It grows as a wild plant in disturbed, sandy or stony ground and is not commonly grown in gardens.

Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Annual
Light
Full sun
Water
Needs little water, as it is adapted to dry desert and steppe conditions.
Soil
Sandy or stony, well-drained soil.
Native range
E. Medit., Pakistan
Climate
subtropical

About

Carduus argentatus, sometimes known as the silver thistle, is an annual herb in the family Asteraceae. As a member of the genus Carduus it is known as a plumeless thistle. It is found throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East. Frequently growing in disturbed habitats, it is often found in sandy and stony desert wadis. It is found in the eastern deserts of Egypt, through the East Mediterranean region and into Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It can be found growing in open woodlands and shrublands, on steppes and semi-steppes as well as in extreme desert conditions. It grows among mountain vegetation on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights. In Crete it is found at altitudes of up to 1,400 metres (4,600 ft).

Other Carduus plants

Curly plumeless thistle · Musk Thistle · Italian plumeless thistle · Plumeless thistle

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Carduus argentatus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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