Summary ⁵

Carlina is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is distributed from Madeira and the Canary Islands across Europe and northern Africa to Siberia. The genus name Carlina honors the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Plants of the genus are known commonly as carline thistles.

Description ⁶

Carlina species are very similar to true thistles in morphology, and are part of the thistle tribe, Cynareae. Most are biennial herbs, but the genus includes annuals, perennials, shrubs, and dwarf trees, as well. The largest reach about 80 centimeters tall. The stems are upright and branching or unbranched. The whole plant is spiny. The leaves have toothed or lobed blades with spiny edges and sometimes woolly hairs. The flower heads are solitary or borne in inflorescences. The head is hemispherical to bell-shaped and lined with several layers of spiny phyllaries. The outer phyllaries may be very long and leaflike. It contains tubular or funnel-shaped disc florets in shades of yellow or red. The fruit is a hairy cypsela with a plumelike pappus made up of tufts of bristles.

Summary ⁶

Carlina is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is distributed from Madeira and the Canary Islands across Europe and northern Africa to Siberia and northwestern China.

Uses ⁶

Carlina species have been used as herbal remedies in European systems of traditional medicine. C. acaulis root is known as Carlinae radix and is still used medicinally as a diuretic and a treatment for such conditions as skin lesions and rashes, catarrh, and toothache. Most commercial preparations of Carlinae radix are not C. acaulis, but are in fact adulterated with C. acanthifolia, a related species. The essential oil of both species is mostly composed of carlina oxide, an acetylene derivative. The compound has antimicrobial activity.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Stefano, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/81918877@N00/6112254040/
2. (c) Gertrud K., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/gertrudk/14569232059/
3. (c) tsiegretlop, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/86154126@N07/8813918159/
4. (c) Flores y Plantas, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plantasyflores/4012892171/
5. Adapted by Bea Steinemann from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlina
6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlina

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Plants of the World Online
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos

iNat Map