About

Gundelia or tumble thistle is a low to high (20–100 centimetres or 8–39+1⁄2 inches) thistle-like perennial herbaceous plant with latex, spiny compound inflorescences, reminiscent of teasles and eryngos, that contain cream, yellow, greenish, pink, purple or redish-purple disk florets. It is assigned to the family Asteraceae. The flowers can be found from February to May. The stems of this plant dry-out when the seeds are ripe and break free from the underground root, and are then blown away like a tumbleweed, thus spreading the seeds effectively over large areas with little standing vegetation.

The main species in this genus (Gundelia tournefortii) is native to the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle-East. Opinions differ about the number of species in Gundelia. Sometimes the genus is regarded monotypic, G.

How to grow it

Seeds germinate slowly and may take several years. Seedlings can be planted outside but required light, well-drained soil, and protection against frost. Growth is slow during the first year. Plants can be grown in the rock garden, or on raised beds. Gundelia is probably hardy to about −15 °C when the drainage is good. Plants have been grown intermittently at the École de Botanique and in what is currently known as the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, since the 18th century.

Where it grows

Gundelia tournefortii is mostly found in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and in the province of Muş. In autumn, the dried yellow layers of the plant cover all the mountains, so much so that the degree that can be seen even from space. The tumble thistle can be found in Cyprus, Turkey (Anatolia), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Northern Iraq, northern Iran, Israel, Afghanistan, western Syria, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. It has been introduced in Algeria.