Echinops albidus Boiss. & Spruner, syn of subsp. albidus
Echinops taygeteus Boiss. & Heldr., syn of subsp. taygeteus
Echinops sphaerocephalus, known by the common names glandular globe-thistle,[2]great globe-thistle[3] or pale globe-thistle, is a Eurasian species of globe-thistle belonging to the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae.
Description
flowers, with bee
Echinops sphaerocephalus is a glandular, woolly perennialherbaceous plant with an average height of 50–100 centimetres (20–39 in), occasionally reaching 200 cm (80 inches).[4]
Its erect branching, gray, slightly wrinkled and hairy stems bear the occasional large, soft, sharply toothed, sharp-lobed pointed green leaves. They are sticky hairy above, and white woolly below.[4]
Atop each stem is an almost perfectly sphericalinflorescence up to 6 cm in diameter, packed with white or blue-gray disc florets. It flowers from June until September.[4][5]
The flowers are pollinated by insects (usually bees, wasps and butterflies) (entomogamy) and are hermaphrodite (self fertilization or autogamy). The fruits are hairy cylindrical achenes about 7 to 8 mm long. They ripen from September through October. The seeds are dispersed by wind (anemochory).[4]
Distribution
This species is widespread across much of Eurasia but it lives on other continents where it was introduced, including North America where it is a widespread weed.[4][6][3] It is very common in the mountains of southern France and southern and central Europe.[7]
Habitat
It grows in sunny, rocky or brushy places in more or less mineral rich soils at an altitude of 0–400 metres (0–1,312 ft) above sea level.
