Family: daisies (Asteraceae)
Bloom time: July–September
Size: 50–150 cm
Habitat: bright forests, forest edges, tall herbaceous vegetation, clearings and grasslands
The erect stem of the sticky thistle (Cirsium erisithales) is sticky in its upper part. The basal leaves are deeply pinnately divided. The leaf blades end in spines. At the top of the stem two to three heads usually develop. Less commonly there is a single capitate inflorescence. The involucral leaves never surround the inflorescence, which is characteristic of the Asteraceae and we call it a head. The head is formed by numerous light yellow flowers and the imbricate involucral bracts beneath them. Brown-green, soft involucral bracts are folded back.
The seed is also sticky. The sticky thistle is widespread throughout Slovenia; it is not found in Primorje and Pomurje.
