Scolymus hispanicus - Spanish Oyster Plant

Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Equisetopsida - Order: Asterales - Family: Asteraceae

A very prickly character indeed, the Spanish Oyster Plant, with its green leaves and numerous bright yellow flowers, flourishes even in the hottest weather.

Distribution

A member of the Daisy (Asteraceae) family, this wildflower is widespread throughout the Mediterranean region, where it colonises all sorts of unlikely places including urban locations, as the plant shown above has done.

Blooming times

Spanish Oyster Plant flowers from May to September.

The specimens shown on this page were photographed in the Algarve, southern Portugal, during May.