Globe Thistle vs

Echinops exaltatus compared with Nostoc sphaericum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Globe Thistle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Bacteria (Bacteria)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Cyanobacteria (Cyanobacteria)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Cyanobacteriia
Order	Afrosoricida (Afrosoricida)	Cyanobacteriales
Family	Tenrecidae	Nostocaceae
Genus	Echinops	Nostoc
Species	Echinops exaltatus	Nostoc sphaericum

Conservation Status

Globe Thistle

NE — Not Evaluated

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Globe Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Globe Thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found across Europe (13 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

Nostoc sphaericum is a colonial, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium in the family Nostocaceae, forming gelatinous spherical or irregular colonies visible to the naked eye. It inhabits moist soils, rocks, and freshwater environments, often forming conspicuous blobs after rainfall.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden