Habit: Biennial, armed with prickles or spines +- throughout.
Stem: erect, generally < 2 m, stout, few-branched, rough-hairy.
Leaf: generally < 5 dm, entire or toothed.
Inflorescence: generally +- cylindric; involucre bracts unequal, linear, receptacle bract ending in a spine.
Flower: calyx limb cup-shaped, persistent; corolla generally lavender (white), tube long, lobes unequal; stamens 4.
Fruit: 4-angled, hairy.
Species In Genus: +- 15 species: Europe, western Asia, Africa.
Etymology: (Greek: thirst, from leaf bases that in some species hold water)
Jepson eFlora Author: Charles D. Bell & Elizabeth McClintock
Unabridged Reference: Ferguson & Brizicky 1965 J Arnold Arbor 46:362--365Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)Key to Dipsacus
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