This is a protected plant. It is a biennial plant with a prickly flower head, stem and leaves (a ridge of spines runs along the underside).

The flower head is ovoid with a basal whorl of spiny bracts. The flowers begin to bloom in a belt around the middle, progressing both upward and downwards as they successively open. It is an important source of nectar and pollen for many species of bees and butterflies.

The leaves have a distinctive whitish midrib and a row of sharp spines underneath. They grow in alternately arranged opposite pairs that merge where they join the stem. Water collects where they join which may discourage aphids or even provide a nutritious ‘soup’ of nutrient minerals when insects drown and decay that may be absorbed by the plant in a way familiar in ‘carnivorous’ plants.

The dried seed head persists after flowering and the seeds are an important winter food resource for some birds, notably the European Goldfinch.

(source:Wikipedia)

This is an endangered species and strictly protected!

It is a perennial plant, living for several years but it only flowers once before dying and reproduces only by seed.

The flowering stems are spiny and erect, branching several times to produce many teasel heads on one plant. Occasionally the plants may reach an exceptional height of up to 3 metres when growing on fertile soils. The flower heads have a ring of long spiny bracts around the base, each with a white midrib, typical also of the leaves.

Each flower head may have up to 1,500 small tubular flowers with long spiny bracts but each one blooms for only a day. Blooming begins in a band around the middle of the flower head and progresses upwards and downwards over the flowering period. They are very important nectar and pollen producers for various species of bees and butterflies.

This is a perennial plant with a long tap root enabling it to survive well in dry conditions, preferably grassy places, avoiding heavy soils.

Stems are finely hairy with leaves in opposite pairs . Basal leaves are stalked and lanceolate or with spear-shaped lobes; stem leaves are stalkless, more deeply notched, smaller and finer.

The flower heads are 2-4cm in diameter with a flattish dome. Each small floret is 4-merous, with 4 stamens and 4 petals, radially symmetrical in the centre, larger and flatter with bilateral symmetry towards the outside of the disc.

The fruit is nut-like, cylindrical and hairy, 5–6 mm in size.

This is a herbaceous perennial plant that grows in south and middle Europe. It is common in the Pannonian plains of eastern Austria but is not found at all in western parts of the country.

It has a branched, usually hairy stem and deeply lobed leaves arranged in opposite pairs, larger and broader at the base, finely dissected higher up the stem.

The flower heads are 1.5-3.5 cm in diameter, the florets radially symmetrical and small in the centre, bilaterally symmetrical around the edges with larger showy petals.