Family: Asteraceae Helminthotheca echioides (Picris echiodes)     *     Bristly Ox-tongue Flowering time: June - October. Annual or biennial Habitat: Often coastal, fields, waste ground, disturbed roadsides. Widespread S and SE England, less frequent further north, rare in Ireland. Distinctive heart-shaped, bristly outer bracts surround the yellow flowerheads. Achenes have a long, slender beak. Stout prickly-hairy stems, the oblong-lanceolate leaves covered with stiff, bristly hairs with swollen whitish bases. Height to 100cm Similar: Hawkweed Oxtongue, Picris hieracioides

     



Bristly Ox-tongue, Helminthotheca echioides (Picris echiodes)
Dorset.