Israel flowers: Silver Thistle

Carduus argentatus, Silver Thistle,
Hebrew: קרדה מכסיפה, Arabic: خرفيش صغير

Scientific name:   Carduus argentatus L.
Synonym name:   Carduus acicularis Bertol.
Common name:   Silver Thistle
Hebrew name:   קרדה מכסיפה
Arabic name:   خرفيش صغير
Plant Family:   Compositae / Asteracae, מורכבים


Life form :   Annual
Spinescence:   Leaves, bracts
Stems:   Erect, simple to much branched, (spiny-winged)
Leaves:   Alternate, rosette, entire, dentate or serrate, spinescent
Flowers:   Pink, spinescent bracts
Fruits / pods:   Cypselae ovoid , slightly compressed , faces smooth . glabrous, attachment scars slightly lateral ; pappi persistent or falling in rings . of many minutely barbed , basally connate bristles or setiform, minutely barbed scales
Flowering Period:   April, May
Habitat:   Disturbed habitats
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Carduus, thistle, the classical name.

argentatus, silvery.
The Hebrw name: קרדה, carda, from the scientific name.

  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.

    • The standard author abbreviation Bertol.is used to indicate Antonio Bertoloni (1775 – 1869), an Italian botanist.