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| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
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Helminthotheca echioides (Bristly Oxtongue) |
Helminthotheca echioides (ASTERACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.
Website launch: Oct-2002
Taxonomic update: Aug-2026
Code update: Jul-2026 |
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| Nomenclature and General Information |
Species name : |
Helminthotheca echioides(L.) Holub
Published in Diss. Univ. Wien 116: 67. (1975) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
Helminthia echioides (L.) Gaertn. Synonym that was used for long in Malta:
Picris echiodes
L. Full list of synonyms :
[Euro+Med]
[WFO]
[IPNI]
[POWO]
[Catalogue of Life]
[Worldplants.de]
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Plant Family : |
Asteraceae Bercht. & J.Presl (The Daisy or Sunflower Family) Previously included in Compositae
123 species from the Asteraceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Bristly Oxtongue |
Maltese name(s) : |
Ilsien il-baqra xewwikija |
Status for Malta : |
Indigenous. Present on the Maltese islands before man |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Therophyte ( annual plants, herbaceous, die after fruiting/seeding stage ) |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
March – August |
Colour of Flowers: |
Yellow |
Toxicity: |
Not particularly toxic |
Name Derivation : |
Helminthotheca: ()
echioides: ()
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Planting in rural areas : |
Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines |
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Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Botanical Description |
Annual or biennial. Stems 30-90 cm, with rigid, often tubercle-based hairs and often with some slender spines. Leaves with numerous unequal, rigid hairs, the larger thickened at the base or tubercle-based, and often with scattered spines; basal 35-250 x 15-100 mm, elliptical to oblanceolate or oblong-oblanceolate, obtuse to acute, sinuate to dentate, narrowed at base into a winged petiole; lower cauline similar to basal but with semiamplexicaul petioles, the upper lanceolate to ovate, sessile, amplexicaul. Capitula numerous. Involucre 12-20 x 10-15 mm; bracts with pectinate-ciliate margins, the outer ovate-cordate, acuminate the inner lanceolate, slightly longer than the outer. Achenes 5-7 mm, transversely muricate, with beak about as long as the body, the inner reddish-brown, more or less straight, the outer whitish, curved. | |
Habitat in Europe |
Data will be available in the next update of this website.
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Preferred habitat in Malta |
Steppe, abandoned fields especially with clayey soil, disturbed weedy ground, footpaths in arable ground, valley sides.
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Chromosome number(s) |
2n=10 | |
Distributional range |
S. Europe widely naturalized further north, though often inconstant in its appearances.
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Distributional maps from various sources |
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993) |
Albania, the Azores, the Balaeric Islands, Bulgaria, Corse, Crete, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (mainland, excl. Sicily and Sardinia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Russia and former USSR, Sardinia, Turkey (European part), Introduced in Austria and Liechtenstein, Belgium, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands), Czeck Republic and Slovakia, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Romania
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
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Ab(A) AE(G) Ag Al Au(A) dBe(L) BH Bl(I M N) dBr Bu dCa(C F G L P T) Cg Co Cr Ct Cy ?Eg Ga(C F M) Gg Gr dHb(E N) He Ho Hs(G S) Ir It Jo Le Li Lu Ma dMd(D M P) Mk Rf(CS) Sa Si(M S) dSk Sl Sr Sy Tn Tu(A E) Uk(K) [Au aAu(A L) Az(C F G J L M P S T) Be Br nCa(H) aCs Da nGe Hb(E) aHe Hu aIt aLa aLt No nPo Rm]
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| Links & Further literature
(0 papers) |
Google Web |
Google Images |
Google Scholar |
Research Gate |
Wikipedia |
JSTOR |
GBIF |
Med Checklist |
Cat. of Life |
EoL |
IPNI |
World Flora Online |
Plants of the World Online |
Vienna Virt. Herb. |
RBGE Herbarium |
KEW Herbarium |
MNHN |
Garden Database |
IUCN |
TROPICOS |
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local
studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.
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Sales and Donations
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Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta: Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).
How it works: First, submit a quotation request by completing the Online Quotation Form (link provided on the right side of this table). Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive confirmation regarding seed availability, export eligibility (where applicable), pricing, and any transport charges. Payments are accepted by Revolut, bank transfer (IBAN), or PayPal only; credit and debit card payments are not accepted.
Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
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Online Quotation (Seeds)
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Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
