Eryngium L.
Fls nectariferous, subsessile, bracted, in dense heads subtended by foliaceous bracts. Calyx-teeth prominent, persistent, rigid; petals notched, inflexed. Fr. ovoid to obovoid, covered in tubercles or scales; vittae 5; commissure broad; mericarps obscurely ribbed. Perennial herbs with mainly radical lvs; teeth us. pungent. Widespread genus of some 220 spp.; the N.Z. sp. also in Tasmania and Australia.
