Galactites tomentosa

Galactites tomentosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Galactites
Species:	G. tomentosa
Binomial name
	Galactites tomentosa; Moench
Synonyms
	Galactites pumila; Porta; Carduus galactites; (L.) Chaub.; Lupsia galactites ; (L.) Kuntze; Galactites elegans ; (All.) Nyman ex ;

Galactites tomentosa, the purple milk thistle, is a biennial herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Galactites of the Asteraceae family.^[2]

Description[]

Galactites tomentosa is a hemicryptophyte plant up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) tall. The stem is erect and pubescent, branched at the top. The leaves are green, long and pinnatisect, lanceolate, mottled with white markings, while the underside is whitish and covered with matted woolly hairs. The margins of the leaves bear strong thorns.^[2]

The flower heads are quite large – about 3 centimetres (1.2 in) in diameter. The involucre of the flower head is covered by hairy scales ending with a single grooved thorn. The central flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by insects, while external flowers are sterile; their color varies from white or pink to lilac-purple.^[2]

The flowering period extends from April through July^[2] and the seeds ripen from August through September^{[citation needed]}. The fruits are achenes with whitish hairy appendages (pappus).^[2]

Etymology[]

The genus name derives from the Greek γάλα (= "milk"), referring to the dense white hairs covering the stems and leaves of this species, the species name tomentosa means hairy in Latin.^[2]

Distribution[]

This plant is distributed in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.^[3]

Habitat[]

This plant prefers sunny places and usually grows on the uncultivated or barren grounds, waste places, well-drained soils, pastures and roadsides.^[3]