Carduus crispus, SE: Krustistel, DE: Krause Distel,
NL: Kruldistel, UK: Welted thistle

Scientific name:		Carduus crispus L.
Swedish name:		Krustistel
German name:		Krause Distel
Nederlandse naam:		Kruldistel
English name:		Curly plumeless thistle, Welted thistle
Family:		Asteraceae, Sunflower family, Korgblommiga växter

Life form:		Perennial
Stems:		Height 50–180 cm, erect, continuously spiny-winged up to or nearly up to capitula
Leaves:		Basal, cauline leaves, blade margins, dentate, spiny, subglabrous on lowerside; heads in groups of 3–5
Flowers:		Dense terminal head of numerous tubular, bisexual disc-florets grouped together on a common receptacle
Flowering Period:		June, July, August, September
Fruits:		Cypsela, yellowish-brown, slightly flattened, smooth, crowned by a pappus of straight long hairs
Habitat:		Throughout the country, cultivated land, roadsides, pastures and fields.

Derivation of the botanical name: Carduus, thistle, the classical name. crispus, curled; curly haired. The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy. It is a favorite foodplant of caterpillars of the Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui [(Linnaeus, 1758) Synonym: Papilio cardui (Linnaeus, 1758)], which derives its specific name from their preference for thistles.