Editing Carduus (section)

==Description==
These are usually annual or biennial herbs, sometimes perennial. Species often grow 2 meters in height but are known to reach 4 meters. The erect stems are winged and spiny, and usually have woolly hairs. The leaf blades are hairy to hairless and entire or divided into lobes, and they have spine-toothed edges. The [[pseudanthium|flower heads]] are solitary or borne in [[inflorescence]]s of up to 20. The head is spherical to cylindrical and covered in several layers of spreading or curving spine-tipped [[bract|phyllaries]]. It contains long, tubular disc florets in shades of white, pink, or purple. The fruit is a [[Glossary of botanical terms#cypsela|cypsela]] tipped with a [[pappus (flower structure)|pappus]] of barbed bristles or scales.<ref name=fna/>