Carline thistle
Carlina vulgaris
The Carline thistle is a biennial or perennial herbaceous plant that grows up to 50 centimeters tall. It is characterized by its spiny leaves and typical flower heads, where the inner bracts are straw-yellow and shiny. These bracts react to humidity and close during rain to protect the pollen. The plant prefers sunny, nutrient-poor sites on calcareous soils.
Details
Habitat function
Structure provider in sparse dry grasslands.
Nutrient uptake
Low nutrient requirement, adapted to extremely nitrogen-poor soils.
Food source for
Bees, bumblebees, butterflies, and birds (seed-eaters in winter).
Human use
Formerly a medicinal plant; the fleshy flower receptacles can be prepared like artichokes.
Ecology
Ecological role
Serves as an important food source for specialized insects and as winter quarters for small animals in the hollow stems.
Natural predators
Various insect larvae that feed within the flower heads.
Competitor species
Displacement by tall grasses if grazing is absent.
Ecosystem service
Pollination service by attracting insects; erosion control on dry slopes.
Threats
Eutrophication (nitrogen deposition), abandonment of traditional sheep grazing, encroachment of shrubs on dry grasslands.
Scientific profile
Profile
Reproduction
Exclusively sexual via seed production (generative).
Protection & threats
Main threats
Abandonment of land use and subsequent scrub encroachment (succession), eutrophication via atmospheric nitrogen deposition, conversion of nutrient-poor grasslands into arable land.