Common name: Spotted Thistle
Scolymus maculatus L. APNI* 
Description: Annual up to 1 m high; margins of leaves and stem wings strongly thickened and white; nearly glabrous.
Leaves in a basal rosette at first, oblanceolate, 4–20 cm long, 2–8 cm wide, soft, pinnatifid, with a few spines; cauline leaves rigid, oblong-lanceolate, sinuate-pinnatifid, spinose.
Heads solitary or in clusters of 2–4; heads 8–15 mm diam.; involucral bracts ovate to lanceolate, acute; receptacle scales not narrowed at apex.
Achenes 2.5–4 mm long, obovate; pappus absent.
Flowering: December
Distribution and occurrence: Weed of pastures and wasteland, from the Kempsey area to Merriwa. Native of Mediterranean region.
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *NT, *NWS, *CWS, *NWP
Other Australian states: *Qld
A declared noxious weed in some shires.
Text by L. Murray
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 3 (1992)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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