Onopordum blancheanum, Cottonthistle,
Hebrew: ,חוחן בלאנש, Arabic: شوك

Scientific name:		Onopordum blancheanum (Eig) Danin
Synonym name:		Onopordum carduiforme subsp. blancheanum Eig
Common name:		Cottonthistle
Hebrew name:		חוחן בלאנש
Arabic name:		شوك
Family:		Compositae / Asteraceae, מורכבים

Life form:		Henicryptophyte
Spinescence:		Leaves, bracts
Branching:		2-10cm above the ground
Leaves:		alternate, rosette, entire, dentate or serrate
Flowers:		Length of peduncles: 20-50 cm; Color of corolla: dark purple; head diameter: 30-55 mm
Flowering Period:		March, April, May, June
Habitat:		Batha, Phrygana, nests of harvesting ants and synanthropic disturbed habitats
Distribution:		eastern Upper Galilee, Golan
Altitude:		350-1000 above sea level
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name: Onopordum, an early Latin name for a group of thistles, derived from the Greek onos, meaning "ass", and porde, flatulence, because of the belief that the plant caused flatulence in donkeys. blancheanum, named for Charles Isidore Blanche (1823 - 1887), a French plant collector in Tanger (1850 - 1851), subsequently consul at Tripoli and Beirut, also collecting plants in Syria. The Hebrew name: חוחן, khokhan, derivated from חוח, khokh, briar, thorn; related to Aramaic: חוחא, Akkadian: hàh ( = thorn), hahhu, hàyahu ( = thorn). The standard author abbreviation Eig. is used to indicate Alexander Eig (1894 – 1938), a botanist, one of the first plant researchers in Israel, head of department for Botanics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and co-founder of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens on Mount Scopus. The standard author abbreviation Danin is used to indicate Avinoam Danin (born 1939), an Israeli botanist, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Onopordum blancheanum (Eig) Danin prefers basalt soils at an altitude of 300-1000 m and differs by its habitus and flower color from the Onopordum carduiforme Boiss. that is confined to the sandy soils of the coastal plain of Israel.