Scolymus is a genus of annual, biennial or perennial, herbaceous plants that is assigned to the family Asteraceae, and can be found in Macaronesia, around the Mediterranean, and in the Middle East.

All species are spiny, thistle-like in appearance, with flowerheads that consist of yellow (rarely orange or white) ligulate florets, and canals that contain latex.

Young plants consist of a rosette of leaves, which may be variegated, once-pinnately spiny-lobed, to 30 cm long, and having short, fleshy stalks.

[1][3] The flowerheads are seated at the end of the stem or in the limbs of the higher leaves, are arranged in a spike or a globose cluster and are subtended by two to more than five leaflike bracts.

These surround the common floral base (or receptacle), which is conical in shape and is set with ovate papery bracts called chaff or paleae.

Also, on top of the cypsela and within the pappus is a yellow, orange or white strap-like corolla which ends in five teeth, together comprising a ligulate floret.

[1] Golden thistles are assigned to the Cichorieae tribe that shares anastomosing latex canals in both root, stem and leaves, and has flower heads only consisting of one type of floret.

S. grandiflorus is an annual or biennial of up to ¾ m high with one, two or three leaflike bracts subtending each cluster of flowerheads and these are spiny dentate.

S. hispanicus is an annual, biennial or perennial of up to 1¾ m high and it also has one, two or three spiny dentate leaflike bracts subtending each cluster of flowerheads and the yellow, orange or white florets also lack black hairs.

Rembert Dodoens in 1583 and Francesco Cupani in 1713 introduce the name Carduus Chrysanthemus (for S. maculatus), while in Johann Bauhin’s posthumously published great work, Historia plantarum universalis (1650-51), it is called Spina lutea, and Robert Morison in 1699 referred to S. hispanicus as Cichorium luteum.

In 1753 Carl Linnaeus referred to the description Joseph Pitton de Tournefort made in 1700, providing the valid scientific name Scolymus.

[4] Gundelia Catananche Hymenonema S. maculatus S. grandiflorus S. hispanicus The genus name Scolymus derives from the Greek σχόλυμος (skolymus) meaning "artichoke".

[11] Studies have indicated that Scolymus might be used for the bio-removal of cadmium, with the highest concentration measured over 50 μg/g dry weight, and of methylene blue and Eriochrome Black T.[12][13]