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Echinops echinatus
Indian globe thistle is an annual herb from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, grown mainly for its spiny white flower balls. It is often mistaken for milk thistle and is known as camel's thistle.
Echinops echinatus, the Indian globe thistle, commonly known as Usnakantaka, is a species of globe thistle, found in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Indian globe thistle is an erect branched herb about 100 cm high. It has short, stout stems, branching from the base, covered with white cottony hair. Alternately arranged oblong, deeply pinnatifid leaves are 7–12 cm long. Flower heads occur in solitary white spherical balls, 3–5 cm across. Petals of the tiny white disc florets are 5 mm long. Flowers are surrounded by straight, strong, white bristles. Often misidentified with Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertner, it is colloquially known as Camel's thistle.
2',5,7- trihydroxy-3.6-dimethoxy flavone-7-O-b-D-galactopyranosyl-[1®4]-O-a-L-rhamnopyranoside is reported from the seeds of Echinops echinatus. 7-hydroxyisoflavone, kaempferol-4'-methylether, kaempferol-7-methylether, myricetin-3-O-a-L-rhamnoside, kaempferol and kaempferol-3-O-a-L-rhamnoside, are reported from the whole plant of Echinops echinatus.
An antiinflammatory active flavanone glycoside 5,7-dihydroxy-8,4'-dimethoxyflavanone-5-O-a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-7-O-b-D-arabinopyranosyl-(1®4)-O-b-D-glucopyranoside A along with a known compound dihydroquercetin-4'-Me ether is also reported from the leaves of Echinops echinatus.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Echinops echinatus 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.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
