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• Asteraceae
• Asteraceae Group 3
• Echinops
• Echinops sphaerocephalus

Echinops sphaerocephalus — greater globe-thistle

Facts

Greater globe-thistle is introduced from Eurasia. An occasional garden plant, it may escape from cultivation. Several cultivars exist. Greater globe-thistle has been studied in Europe for use as an oilseed crop.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bract cycle number

  there are three or more cycles of bracts

  Bract shape

  • the main bracts are elliptic (widest near the middle and tapered towards the base and tip)
  • the main bracts are lanceolate (widest above the base, then taper narrowly towards the tip)
  • the main bracts are linear (long and very narrow)

  Bract spines

  there is just one simple spine at the tip of the bract

  Bract tip orientation

  the tips of the bracts curve outwards and downwards from the plant

  Bract tip shape

  the tips of the bracts are acuminate (tapered to a narrow point)

  Bracts

  there are at least two distinct forms of bracts in different cycles

  Disk flower color

  • blue to purple
  • white

  Disk flower number

  1-5

  Disk flower reproductive parts

  the disk flower has both pollen- and seed-producing parts

  Disk flower shape

  the disk flower is tube-shaped (cylindrical), or gradually widening like a funnel

  Flower head number

  each flowering stem has four or more flower heads on it

  Flower head outer flowers

  at the outer edge of the flower head, the flowers have no enlarged lobe or strap, and are of similar size as those in the center of the disk

  Flower head platform

  the base has papery scales on it

  Flower head position

  some or all the flower heads are grouped in clusters of two or more

  Flower head profile

  • the disk is conical across the top
  • the disk is rounded across the top

  Flower head width

  30–60 mm

  Flower type in flower heads

  the flower head has disk flowers only, and lacks the strap-shaped flowers

  Height of flower head base

  15–25 mm

  Inflorescence branching (Solidago)

  NA

  Inflorescence shape

  the inflorescence is not flat-topped but appears rounded, with some flower heads distinctly higher than others

  Inflorescence stem

  hairs are present on the stem of the inflorescence

  Ovary attachment

  the ovary is attached at or near the base

  Ovary beak

  there is no beak on the ovary

  Ovary cross-section

  the ovary is roughly square or with four corners

  Ovary hair type

  the ovary has hairs on it, but the hairs have no glands

  Ovary hairs

  the ovary has hairs on it

  Ovary profile

  in profile, the ovary is oblong (roughly rectangular but rounded at the ends)

  Peduncle hair type

  the hairs on the peduncles are simple (not branched), don’t have glands, and are not woolly

  Peduncle hairs

  the peduncles are hairy

  Ray flower color

  NA

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  NA

  Ray flowers

  0

  Ray length

  0 mm

  Reproductive system

  all the flowers on the plant contain both carpels and stamens

  Scale tip

  the scales are acuminate (taper to a very narrow point) or aristate (tipped with a slender bristle)

  Style branch number

  the style has two branches

  Style branches

  the style branch is narrow at the tip, or the style branches are narrow at the tips

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  11 or more

  Ovary beak length

  0 mm

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  7–10 mm

  Seed hair tuft bases

  NA

  Seed hair tuft color

  NA

  Seed hair tuft details

  NA

  Seed hair tuft length

  1–1.5 mm

  Seed hair tuft tips

  NA

  Seed hairs uniform

  NA

  Seed tuft type

  the pappus is made of flat scales that look split or frayed at the tips

  Top of disk flower ovary

  NA

  Tuft or plume on fruit

  there is no plume, or the plume is made up of scales, awns, a crown, or a rim

• Glands or sap

  Bract resin

  the bracts have resin or resin glands

  Leaf blade glands

  the leaf blades have glandular (translucent) dots or scales

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant has one or more free-standing stems

  Plant lifespan

  the plant is perennial, it shows evidence of previous year's leaves, stems or stem bases

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

  Underground organs

  • the plant has a caudex (the root mass is firm and hardened at the top)
  • there is a thickened taproot on the plant

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  • the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
  • the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  • alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
  • the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)

  Leaf blade base

  • the leaf has a distinct petiole
  • the leaf has no petiole
  • the leaf has no petiole and at the base it clasps the stem, or goes all the way around the stem so the stem appears to pierce the leaf

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade edges

  • the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes

  Leaf blade flatness

  the edges of the leaf are curled under

  Leaf blade hairs

  the leaf blade has tangled or woolly-looking hairs

  Leaf blade length

  Up to 350 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
  • the leaf blade is obovate (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  there is no noticeable color variation on the upper surface of the leaf

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)

  Leaf blade veins

  the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base towards the tip

  Leaf blade width

  Up to 80 mm

  Leaf disposition

  the lower leaves are larger, toothier, and/or on longer stalks than the upper leaves

  Leaf spines

  there are spines along the leaf edges

  Leaf stalk

  • the leaves have leaf stalks
  • the leaves have no leaf stalks, but attach directly to the stem

  Leaf tip extension

  NA

  Leaf type

  leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Leaflet number

  0

  Specific leaf type

  • the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis
  • the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis, and each lobe itself has rows of lobes on each side of the lobe's central axis

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem cross-section

  the flowering stem is circular, or with lots of small angles

  Leaves on stem

  there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

  Stem internode hair direction

  the hairs point mostly upwards to outwards

  Stem internode hair type

  • at least some of the hairs on the stem are tangled, matted or woolly
  • at least some of the hairs on the stem have glands

  Stem internode hairs

  the stem has hairs between the nodes

  Stem wings

  the stem does not have wings on it

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae