''Carlina'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

. It is distributed from

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

and the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

and northwestern China.Kovanda, M. (2002)
Observations on ''Carlina biebersteinii''.
''Thaiszia Journal of Botany'' 12(1), 75-82. Plants of the genus are known commonly as carline thistles.''Carlina''.
In: Greuter, W. & E. von Raab-Straube. (Eds.) Compositae. Euro+Med Plantbase.

Description

''Carlina'' species are very similar to true thistles (genus ''

Cirsium ''Cirsium'' is a genus of Perennial plant, perennial and Biennial plant, biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. They are more precisely known as plume thistles. These differ from other thist ...

'') in

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

, and are part of the thistle tribe,

Cardueae The Cardueae are a tribe (biology), tribe of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) and the subfamily Carduoideae. Most of them are commonly known as thistles; four of the best known genera are ''Carduus'', ''Cynara'' (containing the ...

. Most are biennial herbs, but the genus includes annuals, perennials,

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s, and dwarf

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s, as well. The largest reach about 80 centimeters tall. The stems are upright and branching or unbranched. The whole plant is spiny. The leaves have toothed or lobed blades with spiny edges and sometimes woolly hairs. The

flower heads A pseudanthium (; : pseudanthia) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, composite flowers ...

are solitary or borne in

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

s. The head is hemispherical to bell-shaped and lined with several layers of spiny

phyllaries In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower. The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one o ...

. The outer phyllaries may be very long and leaflike. It contains tubular or funnel-shaped disc florets in shades of yellow or red. The fruit is a hairy cypsela with a plumelike pappus made up of tufts of bristles.''Carlina''.
Flora of North America.

Taxonomy and relationships

''Carlina'' is closely related to the genus '' Atractylis''. Together they are a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to the genus ''

Atractylodes ''Atractylodes'' is a genus of Asian flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Species ''Atractylodes'' is native to eastern Asia. * '' Atractylodes amurensis'' – Korea, Amur * '' Atractylodes carlinoides'' – Hubei * '' Atractylodes japoni ...

'' in the subtribe Carlininae. ''Carlina'' has been divided into five subgenera: ''Carlina'', ''Carlowizia'', ''Heracantha'', ''Lyrolepis'', and ''Mitina''. Carlina biebersteinii 3

There are about 28 to 34''Carlina''.
The Plant List. species in the genus.

Etymology

The genus name honors the

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

(1500–1558).

Uses

''Carlina'' species have been used as

herbal remedies Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

in European systems of

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

.Đorđević, S., et al. (2012)
Bioactivity assays on ''Carlina acaulis'' and ''C. acanthifolia'' root and herb extracts.
''Digest Journal of Nanomaterials and Biostructures'' 7(3), 1213-22. '' C. acaulis'' root is known as ''Carlinae radix'' and is still used medicinally as a

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics ...

and a treatment for such conditions as skin lesions and rashes,

catarrh Catarrh ( ) is an inflammation of mucous membranes in one of the airways or cavities of the body, usually with reference to the throat and paranasal sinuses. It can result in a thick exudate of mucus and white blood cells caused by the swelling ...

, and

toothache Toothaches, also known as dental pain or tooth pain,Segen JC. (2002). ''McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine''. The McGraw-Hill Companies. is pain in the teeth or their supporting structures, caused by dental diseases or referred ...

. Most commercial preparations of ''Carlinae radix'' are not ''C. acaulis'', but are in fact adulterated with ''C. acanthifolia'', a related species. The

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

of both species is mostly composed of carlina oxide, an

acetylene Acetylene (Chemical nomenclature, systematic name: ethyne) is a chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is u ...

derivative. The compound has antimicrobial activity.Djordjevic, S., et al. (2005)
Composition of ''Carlina acanthifolia'' root essential oil.
''Chemistry of Natural Compounds'' 41(4), 410-12. The young flowerhead of ''C. acaulis'' is also eaten like an

artichoke The artichoke (''Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus''),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the other names: French artichoke, globe artichoke, ...

References

External links

Flora Europaea: ''Carlina'' species list and distributions
{{Authority control Asteraceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus