Onopordum illyricum aka Illyrian Thistle

Onopordum illyricum, also known as Illyrian thistle or Illyrian cottonthistle, is a biennial herb with an erect, branching, winged, spiny stem that can grow over two meters tall. The plant produces spiny leaves that can be up to 50 centimeters long and are divided into deep toothed lobes. The inflorescence bears several large flower heads, each up to 7 centimeters wide, lined with spiny, woolly to cobwebby phyllaries and bear many narrow glandular purple flowers each about 3 centimeters long. The fruit is a cylindrical achene 4 or 5 millimeters long topped with a white pappus 1 centimeter in length. Native to southwestern Europe, it has been introduced into Australia and California, where it has become a noxious weed. Prescribed measures for control include the application of a registered herbicide or physical removal by hand or machinery. It is important to remove all root systems as some plants will re-shoot from roots left in the ground. Although this plant might be poisonous, it is sometimes kept as a rare houseplant that needs regular watering and abundant sunlight. It should be less than 3 feet from a window to thrive.