Onopordum acanthium
Onopordum acanthium
FamilyGenus: Onopordumnative in Germany
🌿
37
Species
interact
🔗
95
Interactions
documented
🐛
1
Host relationships
Species
About this species
An archaeophyte thistle-like plant, established in Great Britain before 1500, Onopordum acanthium is a sun-loving herbaceous species reaching around 0.95 m tall. It bears broad leaves and flowers from June to August, favouring dry, nutrient-rich, calcareous soils in low-disturbance habitats.
Ecological network
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PollinationLarval hostFlower visit
Ecological significance
As a long-established archaeophyte, Onopordum acanthium occurs in nutrient-rich, calcareous open ground where disturbance is low. No data on negative ecological impacts are provided.
Annual cycle
Flowering from June to August. A herbaceous plant, dying back above ground outside the growing season.
Standort & Merkmale
Light
Sonne
Moisture
Trocken
Soil
Starkzehrer (Nährstoffreicher/Fetter Boden)
Flowering period
Jun – Aug
Soil reaction
Basisch / Kalkhold
Bioregion
Continental
Growth form
Krautige Pflanze
Woodiness
Nicht verholzt
Leaf type
Breitblättrig
Plant height
0.952 m
Morphological traits: TRY ID3 (CC BY 3.0) & TRY ID81 (CC BY)
Pflege & Anbau
Prefers a position in full sun. Best in dry, well-drained, nutritionally rich, calcareous to basic soils. Suitable for sites with minimal disturbance.
Scientific profile
Onopordum acanthium is a non-woody, broad-leaved herbaceous plant in the daisy family (Asteraceae). In Great Britain it is an established archaeophyte, having arrived before 1500 and now naturalised. It is recorded in parts of Europe and North Africa. The plant attains an average height of about 0.95 metres and produces its blooms from June to August. Ellenberg indicator values suggest a strong preference for full sun, basic to calcareous reactions, and highly fertile soils; it is not salt tolerant and tends to occur where disturbance is slight. The leaf area averages approximately 4928 mm² and the diaspore mass is about 6.4 mg.
Pollinators & visitors
29 Arten interagieren mit dieser Pflanze
Bombus sylvestrisBombus bohemicusBombus vestalisBombus hortorumBombus soroeensisVanessa carduiMelanargia galatheaHalictus scabiosaeApis melliferaBombus pascuorumPapilio machaonmacroglossum stellatarumBombus rupestrisLasioglossum malachurumBombus lapidariusLasioglossum pauxillumSyrphus ribesiiHalictus quadricinctusEpisyrphus balteatusBombus terrestrisHalictus simplexBombus sylvarumLasioglossum lineareMegachile argentataLasioglossum politumAndrena flavipesEupeodes corollaeHalictus simplex-compressus-longobardicusMegachile pilidens
Host relationships
1 species use this plant as a host
Cassida rubiginosa
Other flower visitors
7 other species visit the flowers
Aeshna junceaFormica pratensisThomisus onustusHarmonia axyridisPsyllobora vigintiduopunctataCoccinella septempunctataOedemera nobilis
Sources & data origin
•Interaktionsdaten via GloBI (CC-BY 4.0)
•pollinator_interactions
•FloraWeb / BfN
•EIVE 1.0 — Dengler et al. (2023), DOI: 10.3897/VCS.98324 (CC BY 4.0)
•GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — GBIF Secretariat (2024), DOI: 10.15468/39omei (CC BY 4.0)
•TRY Categorical Traits (ID3) — Kattge et al. (2012), DOI: 10.17871/TRY.3 (CC BY 3.0)
•TRY Global Spectrum (ID81) — Díaz et al. (2016/2021), DOI: 10.17871/TRY.81 (CC BY)
•Govaerts R et al. (2025) — World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) v14. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. DOI: 10.34885/xs7h-ze42 (CC BY 4.0)
•Foto: © Adobe Stock / AdobeStock_351738192
All data is licensed under CC BY 4.0, CC0, or compatible terms. Attribution according to license conditions. Full source overview →