peregrine thistle

Cirsium cymosum var. cymosum

abaxial face of outer and middle phyllaries may have long, sticky-resinous ridge (milky when fresh, dark when dry, occasionally very narrow) or not
margins of phyllaries entire
outer and middle phyllaries with short-appressed bases and lanceolate to linear or needle-like, ascending to stiffly spreading tips; tip-spines generally 1–35 mm
phyllary tips glabrous or hairy to densely tomentose but generally not conspicuously connected side-to-side by network of cobwebby or multicellular hairs
stem evidently coarse-hairy with multicellular hairs, also cobwebby to densely tomentose with long, fine hairs
cauline leaves generally ± clasping, with expanded basal lobes
leaf veins generally prominently raised abaxially
Henry Coe, Sunol

Bay Area species: iNaturalist – Calflora