Coarse, somewhat spiny-hispid annual 3-8 dm; lvs toothed or entire, the lower oblanceolate and petioled, the others more lanceolate or oblong, sessile and somewhat clasping, the blade to 25 נ7 cm; invol 1-2 cm, biseriate, the inner bracts narrow, commonly with a subterminal spiny awn-tip, the outer 3-5 foliaceous, ovate or lance- ovate, 3.5-8 mm wide, not much if at all shorter than the inner; achenes distinctly slender-beaked, the body 2-4 mm, the beak nearly as long, or longer, very fragile near its base; outer achenes half-moon-shaped, pale, woolly, partly enfolded by the bracts, the others narrower, shining, brown, rugulose, obscurely nerved; 2n=10. Fields and waste places; native of Europe, occasionally found in our range. July-Sept.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
