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Plant is an upright biennial. Preferred habitat is roadsides,
pastures, prairies and rich woods. Distribution is throughout
the Escambia region, except directly at seashore.
Leaves are alternate on the stem; no leaf stalks; deeply
cleft; widest in the center; leaf margins lobed equally on each
side with spiny tips; woolly on the underside.
Flowers are heads at the end of a stem; bisexual; symmetrical
in form. Disc flowers are numerous and purple, tips white and
feathery; no ray flowers; bracts spine tipped; pappus feather-like.
Flowers occir in the summer.
Fruit is a seed which outer layer is fused to it (achene).
The related C. muticum is very similar but lacks
the spine-tipped bracts. |
