Eryngium billardieri
Eryngium billardierei, Billardiere's Eryngo, in Turkish hıyarok, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from Turkey and Lebanon-Syria to the Himalaya.
Description and Habitat
An Eryngo with a number of upright stems. Near the bases are few to many complex leaves with moderately broad lobes. The stems branch about halfway up into a loose display of many flower heads that appear Jul to Sep. The flowering parts become very blue. Each flower head is surrounded by 5-9 slender spine-leaves, usually curving down somewhat, and within a head each small flower is attended by a small simple spine. It naturally grows on stony slopes and fallow fields at high altitude.It is allied to Eryngium kotschyi which has much finer leaves, and also may sometimes be confused vegetatively with Eryngium thyrsoideum, or in Transcaucasia with E. campestre.