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GENERAL
Origin
:
Mediterranean,
sub-tropical
Humidity
:
extremely arid,
very arid, semi-
arid
Propagation :
direct sowing,
sowing and
pricking out
Maintenance :
low
CONDITIONS
Urban climate :
resistant
Dessication :
resistant
Stagnant water :
vulnerable
Irrigation
:
none
Salinity/ppm :
low (1000 ppm)
Hardiness
:
-9°C
SHAPE
Type
:
perennial
Height
:
0.4 m-0.6 m
Spread
:
0.3 m-0.5 m
Foliage
:
deciduous
FLOWER
Colour
:
blue
Size
:
6 cm
Period
:
May - June
FRUIT
Type of fruit :
achene
Echinops hussoni, or Globe Thistle, has a wide range of habitats. It is widespread in dry wadi beds
in the Arriyadh region, whereby its original climatic zone is more Mediterranean and subtropical.
It is known in Arabic as shidq aljamal. The Globe Thistle is a prickly, perennial herb, named after
its attractive, spherically shaped, pale-blue flowers. It grows to a height of 60 cm. The stems and
leaves are silver grey-green, soft, but with spiny tips and woolly underneath. The plant’s leaves
form a star on the ground from which the flower stalk emerges, usually during the early summer,
bearing a globe covered with tiny flowers between the spines. The blooms are still attractive, even
when dry after flowering. The blue globes attract many butterflies and other insects. The fleshy
roots are quite deep. E. hussoni prefers poor, sandy or rocky soil that is well drained. Tolerance to
salinity is low, but otherwise the plant is well adapted to harsh, desert conditions. It can be pro-
pagated by seed, and it self-seeds easily. An attractive plant for massed planting or groundcover,
as well as in rock or steppe gardens, this perennial is very useful for planting in open country
as a coloniser, a slope stabiliser or on rocky hillsides. These thistles do not need irrigation once
established, and maintenance is also very low.
133
Echinops hussoni,
Asteraceae
Globe Thistle,
shidq aljamal