Picris echioides L.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Polders of Lampernisse, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Photo: Bart Wursten
Hasselt, Limburg, Belgium

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Synonyms:	Helminthotheca echioides (L.) Holub Helmintia echioides (L.) Gaertn.
Common names:	Bristly ox-tongue (English)
Frequency:
Status:	Introduced (see note below).
Description:	Annual or biennial herb, up to 1 m tall. Stems stout, bearing rigid hairs which are tuberculate at the base and 3-fid and hooked at the apex. Basal leaves elliptic to oblanceolate, decurrent into a winged petiole; cauline leaves sessile, amplexicaul. Capitula borne in an irregular corymb. Outer phyllaries 3-5, large, ovate-cordate; inner lanceolate. Flowers yellow. Achenes 2.5-3.5 mm; beak slender, as long as the achene.
Notes:	At SRGH (on 4 February 2009) there were 3 specimens of Picris echioides; all of which are from a plant grown on at Salisbury Research Station in 1977 originally from a contaminant of carrot seed originating from the Birdseye Factory, at Juliasdale (Nyanga District). The inclusion of this species in the Zimbabwe flora therefore seems rather tenuous. Clearly, Picris echioides seeds have been introduced into Zimbabwe and have the potential to occur as a weed in carrot crops, but that does not actually seem to have yet occurred. All three specimens are insect-damaged.
Derivation of specific name:	echioides: resembling the genus Echium
Habitat:
Altitude range: (metres)
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Native to the Mediterranean region, the Canary Isles and SW Asia; widely naturalised in Europe, N America and other parts of the world.
Zimbabwe distribution:	E
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Images last updated:	Wednesday 30 January 2013
Literature:	Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 27.

Other sources of information about Picris echioides:

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Picris echioides
African Plant Database: Picris echioides
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Picris echioides
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Picris echioides
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Picris echioides
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Picris echioides
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Picris echioides
JSTOR Plant Science: Picris echioides
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Picris echioides
Plants of the World Online: Picris echioides
Tropicos: Picris echioides
Wikipedia: Picris echioides