''Eryngium articulatum'' is a species of flowering plant in the
carrot family known by the common names beethistle and jointed coyote thistle. This plant is native to the northwestern United States from
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
, where it is a plant of marshes and riverbanks. This is a sturdy, branching
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
with rounded, naked stems reaching maximum heights over one meter. It has a few sparse sharply serrated leaves at nodes and branching points along its stem. Atop the stem is the rounded to egg-shaped flower head, which looks superficially like that of a
thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...
, mainly due to its spikiness and lavender color. It is fringed with up to 17 spiny, toothed, pointed
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
s, each up to about two centimeters long. Each flower head is packed full of small lavender flowers.
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
articulatum
{{Apiaceae-stub