Cirsium monspessulanum (L.) Hill, it is a perennial herb with a straight stem, up to (20-)30-150 cm long, branched and leafless in the upper part, winged only below. The leaves are sessile, converging along the stem, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, entire or toothed, with spines 4-10(-15) mm long, usually soft, otherwise glabrous and shiny. Capitula grow singly or in groups of 2-5 (-10) at the top of the branches, are short-stalked; the involucre is 10-15 mm long and 8-15 mm wide. The involucre bracts are ovate to lanceolate, finely ciliate along the margin, pointed, with a spine 0.5-2 mm long. Florets purple, rarely white, the corolla is 13-20 mm long. The fruit is an achene, 2.5-4 mm long, the fluff is 9-14 mm long.
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