visionspictures.com Other common names
weather thistle, ysgallen siarl
Synonyms
Carlina longifolia
Annual Biennial
A biennial plant with an upright, clumping growth habit, it forms a basal rosette in its first year before sending up a flowering stem in its second year. It reaches 15 to 40cm with spiny, oblong leaves that are green with a slightly grayish or silvery tint due to cottony hairs on the underside. Its distinctive flower heads, 1.5 to 4cm wide, appear singly or in small clusters, featuring shiny, straw-colored, petal-like bracts with a metallic sheen. The flowers open in dry weather and close when moist
Position
Full sun
Soil Types
Chalk, Loam, Sand