Common Name

Saffron Thistle; Woolly Star Thistle

Family

Asteraceae

Notes

Introduced annual forb to 1.6m tall. Spiny leaf edges and flowers. Basal leaves to about 13cm long, about 45mm wide, soon lost. Stem leaves alternating up the stems, with basal lobes, 3-6cm long, flat, hairy to hairless, sticky, divided, toothed with numerous spines. Flowers cream to yellow, with many ‘petals’. Flower heads oval, single at the ends of the stems. Noxious weed in Vic.

Description and photograph of flowers in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales pages 721-722

PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Carthamus~lanatus