| Onopordum acanthium | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Onopordum |
| Species: | O. acanthium
|
| Binomial name | |
| Onopordum acanthium | |
Onopordum acanthium (cotton thistle, Scotch (or Scottish) thistle) is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and Western Asia from the Iberian Peninsula east to Kazakhstan, and north to central Scandinavia, and widely naturalised elsewhere,[1][2][3] with especially large populations present in the United States and Australia. It is a vigorous biennial plant with coarse, spiny leaves and conspicuous spiny-winged stems.[4]
It should not be confused with Cirsium vulgare (spear thistle), which is also known as Scotch or Scottish thistle and is the national flower of Scotland.[citation needed] Spear thistle is native to Britain, while cotton thistle is non-native.
- ^ Clive A. Stace (2010). New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 695. ISBN 978-0-521-70772-5.
- ^ Den virtuella floran: Onopordum acanthium (in Swedish, with maps)
- ^ Europaea: Onopordum acanthium [dead link]
- ^ Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. (1976). Flora Europaea vol. 4. Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-08717-1