Home | > | List of families | > | Asteraceae | > | Carduus | > | nyassanus |
Synonyms: |
Carduus leptacanthus Fresen. var. nyassanus S. Moore |
Common names: | |
Frequency: | |
Status: | Native |
Description: |
Erect spiny perennial herb, up to c. 1.5 m tall. Stems simple, or sparingly branched above, coarsely ribbed, more or less pubescent, longitudinally winged; wing-segments up to c. 1.5 cm. wide and strongly spiny on the margins. Leaves crowded below, fewer and smaller above; basal leaves narrowly oblanceolate in outline, 10–35 cm long, pinnately divided, often pubescent especially on the midribs; leaf-segments up to c. 3.5 cm long near leaf apex, decreasing in size towards the leaf base; margins coarsely dentate with the teeth strongly spine-tipped. Capitula many, in dense terminal clusters 3.5–7 cm in diameter; involucre bracts numerous, 10-20 mm long, narrowly lanceolate, straw-coloured or purple-tinged, tapering to long apical spines. Corollas white, reddish-tinged or mauve, 10–13 mm long. Achenes straw-coloured or pale-brown, 4–4.5 mm long, somewhat 3–4-ribbed, hairless; pappus with numerous setae 11–12 mm long, flattened, barbellate, united at the base in a deciduous ring. |
Notes: | See Cirsium buchwaldii for comparison. |
Derivation of specific name: | nyassanus: of Nyassa, referring to Malawi, formerly Nyassaland, where the type was collected. |
Habitat: | Moist places in montane grassland and along streams. |
Altitude range: | |
Flowering time: | |
Worldwide distribution: | Nigeria, Cameroon, DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia. |
Malawi distribution: | N,C,S |
Growth form(s): | |
Endemic status: | |
Red data list status: | |
Insects associated with this species: | |
Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
Content last updated: | Wednesday 3 April 2019 |
Literature: |
Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 87. (Includes a picture). Phiri, P.S.M. (2005). A Checklist of Zambian Vascular Plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 32 Page 29. Pope, G.V. (1992). Compositae Flora Zambesiaca 6(1) Pages 50 - 51. (Includes a picture). |
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