Onopordum acanthium

Onopordum acanthium (cotton thistle, Scotch (or Scottish) thistle) is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and Western Asia from the Iberian Peninsula east to Kazakhstan, and north to central Scandinavia, and widely naturalised elsewhere, with especially large populations present in the United States and Australia. It is a vigorous biennial plant with coarse, spiny leaves and conspicuous spiny-winged stems.

Onopordum acanthium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Onopordum
Species:
O. acanthium
Binomial name
Onopordum acanthium

It should not be confused with Cirsium vulgare (spear thistle), which is also known as Scotch or Scottish thistle and is the national flower of Scotland. Spear thistle is native to Britain, while cotton thistle is non-native.

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