Echinops exaltatus, the Russian globe thistle or tall globe thistle, is European species of globe thistle in the family Asteraceae. It is native to central and eastern Europe from Germany and Italy east into Russia.Altervista Flora Italiana, Cardo pallottola semplice, drüsenlose Kugeldistel, grå bolltistel, Echinops exaltatus Schrad. The species has escaped cultivation and become established in the wild in scattered locations in eastern Canada and the northern United States.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
Description Echinops exaltatus is the largest of all globe thistles, a branching perennial herb up to 150 cm (60 inches or 5 feet) tall. One plant can produces several flower heads, each with a very nearly spherical array of white or pale blue disc florets but no ray florets.Flora of North America, Tall globe-thistle, boulette de Hongrie, Echinops exaltatus Schrader, Hort. Gott. 2: 15, plate 9. 1811.
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