Echinops sphaerocephalus, known by the common names glandular globe-thistle, great globe-thistle or pale globe-thistle, is a Eurasian species of globe-thistle belonging to the tribe Cardueae within the family Asteraceae.
Echinops sphaerocephalus is a glandular, woolly perennial herbaceous plant with an average height of 50-, occasionally reaching 200 cm (80 inches).[1]
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.[1]
Atop each stem is an almost perfectly spherical inflorescence up to 6 cm in diameter, packed with white or blue-gray disc florets. It flowers from June until September.[1] [2]
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).[1]
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.[1] [3] [4] It is very common in the mountains of southern France and southern and central Europe.[5]
It grows in sunny, rocky or brushy places in more or less mineral rich soils at an altitude of 0- above sea level.
