Nederlands: Tengere distel
Español: Cardo
Français: Chardon à petits capitules
Deutsch: Dünnköpfige Distel
Family: Asteraceae - Daisy family
Flowering time: May-August
Height: 15-130cm
Altitude:
Colour: pale pink to bright purple
Flower: small (6-10mm) in compact clusters of 3 or more (up to 20) flowerheads
Leaves: lanceolate, lobed, spiny-margined, white-cottony beneath
Habitat: dry open habitats, roadsides, waste ground, grassy open places, close to the sea
Distribution: native to southern and western Europe and has spread from there to Central Europe
Notes: In the Netherlands Carduus tenuiflorusis has become very rare. One of the few places where it can be found is near the Afsluitdijk in the province of Noord-Holland. It is on the Dutch Red List of vascular plants. On other continents where Carduus tenuiflorus was introduced it is often considered a noxious weed. In the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain where these photographs are taken, three other species can be found: Carduus carlinoides subsp. hispanicus, Carduus platypus subsp. granatensis and Carduus pycnocephalus.
Related key words: Vereda de la Estrella, Sierra Nevada, Granada, Anducía, Andalusia, Andalusië, Spain, butterfly, Euphydryas desfontainii, Spanish Fritillary, insect, Nederlandse Rode Lijst, Wieringen
