About Echinops polyceras Boiss.
Echinops polyceras Boiss. is a non-succulent, perennial hemicryptophyte, with spines present on its bracts and leaves. Its leaves are arranged alternately, with one leaf growing at each node, and also form rosettes. The leaves are dissected, and can be either pinnate or bipinnate. This species has no stipules. At the top of each stem sits an almost perfectly spherical inflorescence that can reach up to 8 cm in diameter, and it often bears long, radial thorny projections. The inflorescence holds dark blue florets. It flowers between March and June, produces fruits between April and July, and disperses its seeds between July and November. This species has an Irano-Turanian distribution. It can be found in habitats including batha (also called garrigue or phrygana), desert slopes, hard rock outcrops, and shrub-steppes. Ecologically, Echinops polyceras is both drought and salt resistant, and is classified as a glycophyte. While it occurs mostly in natural habitats, it can also be synanthropic.
