Notobasis syriaca, Cirsium syriacum, Cnicus syriacus, Syrian thistle,
Hebrew: ברקן סורי, Arabic: خرفيش

Scientific name:		Notobasis syriaca (L.) Cass.
Synonym name:		Cirsium syriacum (L.) Gaertn., Cnicus syriacus (L.) Roth
Common name:		Syrian Thistle
Hebrew name:		ברקן סורי
Arabic name:		خرفيش
Plant Family:		Compositae / Asteraceae, מורכבים

Life form:		Annual
Spinescence:		Leaves, bracts
Stems:		80-150 cm; usually branched and bluish above
Leaves:		Alternate, rosette, entire, dentate or serrate, spinescent
Inflorescence:		Indeterminate heads (also called capitula)
Flowers:		Purple, spinescent bracts
Fruits / pods:		Achene 5-5mm, brown; outer pappus-satae 13-15mm, inner pappus hairs 1-2mm
Flowering Period:		March, April, May
Habitat:		Batha, Phrygana, Disturbed habitats
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name: Notobasis, Greek notis "moisture," notios, notos, noton "moist damp, rainy" and basis "base, pedestal," referring to the habitat. syriaca, syrian. Cirsium , Greek kirsion, a kind of thistle, in turn from kirsos, "a swollen vein or welt," because thistles were often used as a remedy against such things. cnicus, a Latin name of the safflower, from Greek knikos. The Hebrew name: ברקן, barkan, "brier", of uncertain origin; Judges 8:16: "He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers (הברקנים, barkanim, barqanim)". The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy. The standard author abbreviation Cass. is used to indicate Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini (1781 – 1832), a French botanist and naturalist, who specialised in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The standard author abbreviation Gaertn. is used to indicate Joseph Gaertner (1732 – 1791), a German botanist. The standard author abbreviation Roth is used to indicate Albrecht Wilhelm Roth (1757 – 1834), a German physician and botanist. Bible resources: Job 31:40 then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended. Isaiah 34:13 Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls.